


Soar

by Ink_and_Pen_on_Paper



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Fantasy, Gen, Grieving, Magic, Magical Creatures, but also horribly written, but horribly written angst, imagine someone mixing together your standard fairy tale and harry potter and you've got this, this is old writing, unedited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:34:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 35,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23433262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ink_and_Pen_on_Paper/pseuds/Ink_and_Pen_on_Paper
Summary: Where two girls are whisked off to somewhere unseen.





	Soar

A crisp breeze whipped up a storm of golden leaves outside of the window. Anastasia stared languidly outside, tuning out everything her teacher said. It was autumn, one of her most favorite seasons, yet here she was, stuck inside a stuffy room, listening to her teacher drone on about history. As the bell rang, Anastasia Weiss picked up her backpack and started out of the classroom. It was the usual hallway rush, people standing in small groups throughout the hallway, talking, laughing, and messing around.

"Anastasia!" A black-haired girl cheerfully waved from the school entrance. Anastasia sighed and walked over to her spunky friend. A few people had stopped in the hallway and were staring at Diantha. Diantha Chen stood in place, bouncing lightly on her feet, grinning.

"Honestly," Anastasia walked past Diantha, "I'm seriously starting to question why I'm friends with you."

Diantha grinned smugly in response, following Anastasia. "I don't know. Maybe it's 'cause I'm amazing."

"Sure, sure." Anastasia scoffed, a small smile making its way onto her face. The two friends walked out of school and were met with a gust of cold wind. Anastasia brushed her brown hair out of her vivid green eyes and continued forward. Leaves crunched beneath their feet as they continued home. Diantha walked with a slight bounce in her step and stared up, her brown eyes reflecting the blue sky above. They veered off the sidewalk and slipped off into the woods, taking a shortcut back to their houses. Diantha and Anastasia had known each other since they were young children. Anastasia was adopted, and Diantha lived with her mother and stepfather. Both girls had never met their fathers, and that was one of many things that had brought the two of them together.

It was the usual route home. They'd walk along the regular path, then veer off the road and cut through a trail in the woods, leading into the girls' backyards. After a brisk walk, the girls ended up in their neighborhood. Anastasia clambered over her fence and jumped into her yard, while Diantha entered through the back gate of her house.

Anastasia turned the key in the lock and pulled open the glass sliding door. She shut the door behind her as she stepped into her house. Her adoptive father generally worked late into the night, and her adoptive mother didn't come home until around dinnertime. She dropped her backpack onto the ground by the kitchen table and stared around the quiet house. Sighing, Anastasia sat down at the table, pulled out her computer, and started on her homework.

An hour passed, and the sun began to set. The front door opened, and Anastasia saw her mother walk in.

"I left food in the fridge." her mother said, "Feel free to grab whatever you want."

Anastasia nodded. "Sure."

Anastasia walked over to the refrigerator and pulled open the door. She grabbed some instant Chinese food, spun it in the microwave, grabbed the plate, and headed to her room. Placing the plate of food on her desk, Anastasia pulled out her computer. She plugged a set of headphones in and started surfing the web.

The next day, Anastasia walked through the forest towards her school. Diantha had gone ahead of her, and they'd arranged to meet in a clearing in the forest. Dry leaves and branches crunched beneath her feet as she stalked through the golden-leaved woods. In the midst of the clearing, their meeting point, stood Diantha. She waved as Anastasia walked towards her. The two friends walked through the woods, only the rustle of branches overhead and crack of twigs underfoot breaking the silence. Things were peaceful. A small breeze tugged leaves off the branches that hung above. A loud crash suddenly sounded, interrupting the peaceful silence. Diantha and Anastasia froze in place. Diantha, being the type of person she was, suddenly dashed off in the direction of the sound to investigate without warning.

"Hey!" Anastasia rushed off after Diantha. "Wait up!"

They stopped at a separate clearing, deeper in the forest, and off of the main trail. Two boys, one of which looked seventeen, the other thirteen, stood facing what seemed to be a large dog. The creature lunged towards one of the boys, coming closer to where Anastasia and Diantha stood, unseen by everyone and everything present in the clearing.

Anastasia stared at it as the creature neared.

That thing definitely wasn't a dog. From afar, it looked like a large pit bull, but up close, the thing looked like a demon. It had blood red eyes, and where the whites of its eyes were supposed to be, was black. Its shadowy fur seemed to fall downwards like mist, and dissolved around the creature's paws. An unseeing third eye sat in the center of the creatures forehead. It's jaws gaped open, and a set of large fangs protruded from its mouth. The creature itself stood to about the size of a small horse.

Anastasia wasn't sure how to respond to the situation in front of her. Diantha stood frozen by her side, a mixture of both amazement and fear shining in her eyes.

The creature lunged at the younger boy, jaws agape. With a brisk wave of his hand, the creature was suddenly swept off to the side.

Anastasia stared at the scene. It didn't make sense. She could've sworn that the boy had just pushed the creature, but he hadn't touched the thing. The taller boy waved his hand outward as the creature attempted to regain its footing, trapping it with a series of bright lights.

The dog-demon suddenly combusted, dissolving into a pile of dust. Nothing remained of it but a single black gemstone lying at the top of the mound of dust. The older boy walked over, picked up the stone, and crushed it in his hand, a cloud of black forming as he did so.

Diantha and Anastasia stood, frozen, both still trying to comprehend the scene before them.

The younger boy turned in their direction. He froze.

In an instant, Anastasia found herself restrained, unable to move. Her limbs were stuck to her sides, and it felt as if ice were creeping through her veins.

"How much did you see?" he demanded. Anastasia stood there, fear lighting her gaze. The boy had dirty blond hair. His ice blue eyes were cold. The taller boy walked over.

"Release them." He commanded. He had brown hair and eyes the same color as the shorter boy. Anastasia assumed that they were brothers. The younger boy scoffed and flicked his hand. Both Anastasia and Diantha fell to the wooded ground.

The older boy sighed, "Great, now because of you we need to bring them back."

The younger boy glowered. "They could've seen the demon."

Anastasia and Diantha climbed back to their feet, watching the two boys argue. The older boy stared down at his brother. He then turned his attention to Diantha and Anastasia, snapped his fingers. The ground dissolved beneath Anastasia's feet.

Once the ground solidified again, Anastasia found herself in the center of a city. She stood there, staring around, dumbfounded.

"Hey!" Diantha suddenly shouted, "Can't you guys explain?" She stood her ground indignantly. Diantha was responded with a silencing look from the older boy.

"Follow us, and don't even think about wandering off." The older boy turned around. A part of Anastasia wanted to retort, but fear of the unfamiliar surroundings overtook her, and she submissively followed.

Every building in the city that they walked around in looked like something straight from a fantasy. Most of the houses closer to the edge of the city were quaint and looked to be living quarters. As the group headed farther into the city, grand structures made out of clear crystal or white marble started to appear.

What caught Anastasia's attention even more were the people who were walking around. They most definitely weren't human. A human-like creature with a fluffy tail and wolf-like ears walked by and greeted the boys warmly. She'd shot a look at Anastasia and Diantha as if they were the weird ones.

The group eventually came to a stop at a white marble building. It looked as if it were a monument that was intended for a king. It seemed to be the tallest building in the area and had large stained glass windows. A set of white marble stairs led up to the two crystal front doors.

"Come on." The brown-haired boy stood at the top of the stairs. "They haven't got all day." Diantha shot a glare at the boy, but followed anyway. Anastasia tentatively followed her friend. She turned back and saw the younger boy. His face showed no expression. He shot a glare at Anastasia, and Anastasia continued forward. She didn't like the aura he gave off. It was disturbing, as if he were a wild animal that could snap and attack at any second.

The inside of the building was even grander than the outside. It was a single story, with a vaulted ceiling. Sunlight that shone through the windows stained the tiled floor multiple shades of color. More of the creatures that Anastasia had seen outside filed their way throughout the building.

The older boy had gone over to a wooden desk and was speaking with the person sitting behind it. So far, the two most human-looking people that Anastasia had seen throughout this whole ordeal were the two boys, but now, she could see another one behind the counter. He had blonde hair and, strangely, red eyes. His face was pale and expressionless, set in stone.

The older boy turned around and waved his brother towards him. The younger boy shot a look towards his brother and waved towards Anastasia and Diantha. The two friends followed the young boy towards the desk. The figure behind the table stared at them with a cold glare. He stepped out from behind the desk.

"Follow me." he commanded, turning around. Anastasia tensed. Those eyes weren't human. He acted like one and spoke like one, but there was no way that those eyes were human. They were red and had smaller pupils than a human's.

Thoughts collided in Anastasia's head as she tentatively followed the man. Diantha was her usual spunky self, despite her unfamiliar surroundings. She glared at the figure, but followed anyway. Anastasia was grateful that Diantha had followed orders for once. In their current situation, it'd be better that they followed the directions of those, however hostile they were, who knew the place.

Anastasia and Diantha followed the figure through a door at the back of the building. The two boys from the woods followed. The older boy stayed up front with the red-eyed man, while the younger boy fell back, walking just in front of Diantha and Anastasia.

Through the door was a darker stone cavern. Rock formations hung from the ceiling and the sound of water dripping to the ground echoed throughout the cavern.

The group walked shrouded in silence, with only the drops of water and the crunch of gravel underfoot occasionally breaking the tranquility. Diantha had always been the type of person who enjoyed talking, and the silence was evidently bothering her. Her frustration showed on her face. Diantha gave up and suddenly spoke up.

"You could at least tell us your names. I'm Diantha, quiet girl over there is Anastasia." Her voice rang throughout the hollow cavern. Anastasia shot a silencing look at her friend, tensing. The older boy and the figure at the front paid no attention to her.

The younger boy, who walked in front of them, looked over his shoulder with a cold glare.

"It doesn't matter." he replied.

"Oh, so no one here has a name?" Diantha huffed sarcastically in response. Anastasia didn't like what was going on in front of her. Her best friend was picking a fight with someone who had easily defeated the monster from the forest. It was like throwing a rabbit in a fox cage and expecting nothing to happen.

"It doesn't concern you," the boy replied again. "And names mean nothing to those who won't meet again." He turned back towards the front.

The dark cavern ceiling subtly lightened and eventually transitioned into a circular wooden room. The room was completely empty, aside from a metal podium at the center with a crystal orb suspended above.

A short old man who reminded Anastasia of Albert Einstein suddenly appeared from behind a stone pillar.

"I got the message." the white haired man spoke.

The red-eyed man nodded, "They're all yours." He then proceeded to leave the premise. The white-haired man turned to look at the two boys.

"You again? This is the fourth time this month that I've seen you two."He scolded. "I honestly don't understand how you've still managed to keep you apprenticeships. Aibeck has a reputation to back him, but not you." The man turned to the younger boy. Anastasia listened intently to the conversation. She assumed that Aibeck was the older boy.

"Honestly I'm amazed too. Warren has always favored Doran, but I'm amazed that I haven't been demoted yet." Aibeck responded, sighing. "Sylvia's pretty much always breathing on my neck now because of this, though." Anastasia caught more names. Doran, she assumed, would be the younger boy. She assumed that Warren and Sylvia were their teachers.

The old man suddenly turned towards Anastasia and Diantha.

"Come on. Let's just get this over with." He waved his hand upward. Diantha suddenly froze next to Anastasia. Anastasia was confused at first, until a cold, numb feeling took over her body. It felt as if she had no control over herself, even though she was still consciously aware of everything she was doing, and everything around her. Diantha walked stiffly towards the podium. Only then, did Anastasia realize that there was a set of handcuff like rings attached to the podium.

Diantha walked towards the podium, her steps animated, and set her hands over the set of cuffs. The rings snapped closed around Diantha's wrists. Anastasia wanted to scream at her to snap out of it, but she herself couldn't break out of her restraints.

Doran and Aibeck walked to two opposite sides of the room and lifted their hands. The old man walked out of the room, to a portion of rock. A stone pillar rose in front of where he stood, and the white-haired man began to punch buttons on the machine.

The lamp-like fixture above the podium began to glow, slowly growing brighter and brighter. A sudden beam of white light shot towards where Diantha stood.

Time seemed to freeze.

Anastasia watched her friend scream, but she heard nothing. She watched Diantha double over in pain, but felt nothing. Diantha's eyes turned a milky white. It wasn't natural, but for some reason, it felt familiar.

Almost as quickly as it illuminated, the light subsided. Diantha hunched over the podium, gasping, her eyes slowly returning to their normal color.

"What the..." Diantha shook her head vigorously, in an attempt to clear her mind. "What did you guys just do?" Anastasia looked around the room. Both Aibeck and Doran looked shocked, while the old man was staring at Diantha intently, a mixture of confusion and intrigue plastered onto his face.

"Well... that didn't go as expected." The old man muttered. "Doran, Aibeck, keep an eye on her. We'll deal with this later." The two boys nodded, and Aibeck snapped his hand. The cuffs around Diantha's wrists snapped open. Diantha stared warily at the two boys, but sighed, and walked over to them anyway.

Anastasia felt herself start to move forward, towards the podium. She swore silently in her mind, as her feet brought her towards the center of the room. She had absolutely no clue what was going to happen; neither Doran nor Aibeck had supplied any information.

Unwillingly, she raised her arms through the cuffs. They snapped shut. She knew, that whatever happened to Diantha, would happen to her. For some strange reason, she wasn't scared. A part of her was confident, that she'd be fine, that it'd be like the past, when it really wasn't.

The strange machine started to power up again. The beam of light shot down again.

Everything happened in an instant. Anastasia's surroundings turned white. She was confused. She wasn't aware of it, but she had screamed. A part of her felt excruciating pain, but at the same time, it was comforting, a nostalgic even. Images flashed by her eyes. She couldn't recognize them, but she knew that she had seen them.

Right before everything around her faded, a pair of unseeing green eyes flashed. They studied Anastasia intently, despite that they couldn't see. The world faded back to normal.

Anastasia fell forward. She was back in control. Her head throbbed with a dull, aching pain. The cuffs around her wrists unlatched themselves, and retreated back into the surface of the podium.

Anastasia slowly regained her senses, then whipped her head around, and glared at the old man.

"Explain."

Even Anastasia was surprised at the authority in her own voice. The old man simply ignored her and walked of to a side of the cavern. He picked up a strange-shaped ruby-hued stone and spoke into it.

"Hey, get Warren or Sylvia down here. Those two picked up a strange one this time." he spoke. Anastasia assumed that it was some sort of a phone.

"They can't?" a pause, "All right, I'll get Doran and Aibeck to bring them to the Hall then." The old man set down the item. He looked over at Doran and Aibeck.

"Bring them over." He called out.

He then turned to Anastasia.

Suddenly, he seemed to be speaking in an accent. "Follow those two. All will be explained later." Anastasia nodded, her brow furrowing with confusion. He had been speaking perfect English earlier, but had suddenly switched to accented English. She shrugged the thought off and nodded respectfully in response.

Anastasia walked over to where the others stood. Diantha had stood her ground, and was glaring daggers at Aibeck.

"I demand an explanation." She spoke indignantly. "You brought us here, shot whatever that was at us and don't give us a danged clue as to what is going on here?"

It was the first time in ages since Anastasia had seen her friend this mad. Diantha was usually really spunky, and rarely lost her temper. At the current moment, Diantha's eyes were lit with frustration.

"It is none of your business unless we receive word otherwise." Aibeck coldly responded. Anastasia studied the older boy. It looked as if he were merely putting on an act at the moment (though Diantha was too frustrated to notice) but his brother definitely did not look as if he were faking.

Doran sighed and interrupted his brother. "The old man just told us to bring these two to the Hall. Unless you wanna get yelled at by Sylvia again, I say we hurry up and get ourselves over there." Aibeck simply nodded and turned to walk off, the other three trailing in his steps.

Anastasia stared at the ground, occasionally kicking stones off to the side of the path. Something felt off about earlier. When she had been struck by that beam of light, she had seen something. It was as if an entire movie had been played in front of her eyes in that instant, but too fast for her to comprehend. She pressed against her temples, the headache from earlier still lingering.

There was one thing that she was certain of. There had been a pair of unseeing green eyes. They'd only appeared for a moment, but longer than anything else. Anastasia couldn't get those eyes out of her head. They felt so familiar, but never in her life had Anastasia seen someone with blind eyes that were that shade of green.

She shook her head, attempting to clear her thoughts. Those eyes would be the least of her worries. At the moment, there were better things to worry about.

A dull rumble cut through Anastasia's thoughts. She snapped to attention and looked around. The cavern ceiling seemed to be shaking, but it soon diminished.

At first, Anastasia thought nothing of it, but then she saw the boys. Both Doran and Aibeck had apprehensive looks plastered on their faces. It wasn't normal. Only then, did she feel fear.

"That wasn't normal, was it." Diantha cut in, speaking Anastasia's thoughts.

Aibeck looked over and ran his fingers through his hair. "I've never seen it before, and that didn't look good."

Doran nodded in agreement. "The cavern is already unstable even with the enchantments. Unless you want to be turned into a slime, hurry up." Anastasia had absolutely no idea whatsoever as to what a slime was, but she guessed that it was like what she had seen in fantasy comics, though more squashed.

The group picked up their pace on the gravel path, rushing towards the main doors. Another bout of shaking grabbed hold of the cave. With each step closer to the exit, the less amount of time separated the tremors. Soon, pieces of rock began to fall from the ceiling. Although most were far from the path, Anastasia sped up her pace with each collapse.

Just as the double doors were within sight, a roaring sound filled Anastasia's ears. She whipped around and stared. The entire back portion of the cavern had completely collapsed onto the gravel road, turning into nothing but dust and pieces of rock. Dust billowed in clouds as Anastasia took a step back.

"Hurry up!" Diantha called from farther along the path. Anastasia whipped around, and started to run towards the main doors. She could see the fear lining her friend's eyes as the two of them dashed towards the doors.

Aibeck ran up ahead, and slammed into the door, pushing them open. The cavern continued to collapse behind them, chunks of stone crashing to the ground, kicking up dust and grit. Doran rushed through the doors, Diantha and Anastasia not far behind. Just as Diantha and Anastasia fell through the doors, the entire cavern collapsed behind them.

Anastasia sat on the ground, adrenaline rushing through her veins. Aibeck slammed the doors closed, preventing rubble from spilling out into the main hall, and snapped his fingers, the doors disappearing at the action.

Only then, did Anastasia notice the commotion around her. No one had noticed the their grand dash into the room. They had a good reason to do so too.

An entire wall and a good chunk of the ceiling were missing. Rubble littered the entire floor. In the center of the entire mess, stood a hooded figure in a black cloak. A group of people surrounded the figure in balance stance, but there were even more people off to the sidelines, injured, or unconscious.

"You think this is what caused the collapse?" Diantha whispered to Anastasia. Anastasia nodded meekly in response, petrified by what she saw in front of her.

The hooded figure suddenly turned their head. Anastasia tensed. It felt as if they were staring directly at her. The group of people took the opening and launched themselves at the hooded figure. The figure sidestepped the attack, the creatures flying right by them.

Without warning, the figure suddenly appeared in front of Anastasia. The group of people in the back quickly regained their composition and whipped around.

"Stay away from that human." One of the werewolves commanded.

The hooded figure smiled, "You really know nothing. When the time comes you'll regret not getting the Aeralia first." The figure looked down at Anastasia again, smirked, then suddenly shifted into a bat, and flew off.

For a brief instant, as the figure reformed, Anastasia saw his face. The face, of a black haired man, with a chiseled jaw and pale skin. What caught Anastasia's attention the most, were his eyes. One of his eyes was blood-red and had the pupil of a cat. The other had a significant scar and was gray and unseeing.

Anastasia winced as a bolt of pain shot through her head.

A white-haired girl stood in a wooden room, watching as a human boy stepped onto a podium. She ran towards the boy, hand outstretched, trying to save him, trying to save his memories. A beam of light struck down just as the girl pushed the boy out of the way. Pain shot through her body, but she remembered everything.

"What in Karshia's sake was that?" Doran's voice broke through the scene flashing through Anastasia's head.

Diantha whipped around and glared at Doran, "We're the ones who need explanations. You dragged from our regular lives into whatever this - " Diantha motioned around her, " - is." Doran continued to glare at her, though Anastasia could see that what had happened back in the capital had chipped away at his figure.

Aibeck sighed, "We'll explain later. Right now, we need to head to the Apprentice Hall and report this." Diantha clicked her tongue, but agreed anyway. The authorities had started to move in, and were milling about the building. Aibeck walked out of the building, Diantha not far behind, and Doran and Anastasia tailed at the very end.

Rays of moonlight shined through the window, tinted blue by the opaque curtains. A lamp sat at the center of the stone room and a wooden table below that. Anastasia, Diantha, and Doran were seated at the table, and Aibeck stood on the empty side. Diantha and Doran were seated across from each other. Diantha was glaring daggers at Doran, and Doran, was leaning back in his chair, ignoring the pesky girl in front of him.

The inn like building that they had checked into was on the edge of a small village. Dragon like people - Draconians, Doran had called them - wandered throughout the streets outside.

The group sat in an awkward silence, until Diantha finally snapped.

The girl jumped up out of her seat, the chair falling back as she did so, and slammed her hands onto the table. Anastasia flinched, and warily looked over at her friend.

"You said you'd give us an explanation." She demanded. Doran scoffed, but his brother silenced him with a glare.

Aibeck sighed, pulled out a chair, and sat down. "Fine. but put your hand on this." Aibeck snapped his fingers. Diantha stared at the stone, judging it, before deciding to touch it. The moment her hand made contact with the stone, it glowed green.

Aibeck nodded, "A mage." He handed the stone to Diantha.

"What's this thing?" for the first time in a while, Anastasia spoke up. Doran answered instead.

"It's a... uhm." Doran glanced up thoughtfully. "I don't think there's a pronounceable human word for this, but roughly translated, it means 'the stone that stores souls.'" Diantha glanced over at Doran, obviously cringing.

Aibeck added on, "It reads and stores a sliver of ones soul. It's pretty helpful for telling what someone is, and if destroyed, the soul sliver returns to the whole." Anastasia nodded thoughtfully, filing the information away in her head for later.

"It also translates our language into the wearers first language automatically." Doran said.

Anastasia flinched and looked up at him, confused. "Your language? You mean you weren't speaking English?"

Diantha stared at her friend, perplexed. "They were speaking in some squeaky French-Chinese combination this entire time." Anastasia stared at her friend.

Aibeck and Doran had tensed at her comment. Aibeck sighed and leaned forward on his elbows. Anastasia sat there confused, trying to sort everything out in her head. The introduction of this strange world was already a lot to take in, but now she stood as someone who could understand a foreign language - which wasn't even human - on contact.

Something in her mind connected the unseeing green eyes from earlier to the language skill, but Anastasia pushed the thought out of her mind, deeming it irrational.

"Wait..." Anastasia paused, suddenly remembering. "Does that mean that old man from earlier was speaking in your language too?"

Aibeck nodded. "You could call our language Zylasian, though all mages and creatures speak it, so we've had no reason to name it. The man from earlier was speaking in our native tongue whenever he spoke to us, but switched to human whenever he spoke to you." Anastasia nodded. It explained why the man had spoken with a strange accent when he had spoken to her, and not when he'd spoken to Aibeck and Doran.

"Sorry for the cold act from earlier." Aibeck said. "It's required by code that we're to be like that in order to drive humans away from this world."

"It's fine." Diantha nodded. "But seriously, please just explain everything. Like, what are creatures? What about mages? How does magic work? What is Anastasia?" Aibeck looked over at Diantha, amused by her string of question, and set to explaining.

Anastasia and Diantha both stayed up fairly late, listening to Aibeck explain the concepts of his world. He listed of creatures - Lycans, Aquaros, Felans, Draconians, etcetera - and explained the basics of magic. He stopped once he got to the last question.

"We can generally tell what someone is with those soul-stones." Aibeck snapped his fingers, a stone manifesting in his hand. "Green means mages, Black is Lycan, Blue is Aquaro, Yellow is Felan..." Aibeck listed. Anastasia nodded and reached for the stone. The moment she made contact with the smooth surface it, it felt as if she were being sucked in by the stone. A flash of light flashed in front of her eyes, and Anastasia saw the blind green eyes once again.

Anastasia blinked as the light faded back into the stone room, and looked down at her hand. Something was wrong. The stone was supposed to be one solid color. Instead, it was a clear emerald-green stone with flecks of silver and gold. When she held it up to the light, it became a light teal.

Aibeck sighed. "This is just getting strange." he muttered, as he ran his hand through his hair. "We'll be heading for the apprentice hall first thing tomorrow morning." Aibeck stood up. "Go and get some sleep. You'll need it."

Anastasia lay awake in the bed, staring at the ceiling. It was past midnight, and she knew that she needed the sleep, but too many thoughts rushed through her head. Moonlight shined in from the window of the room, illuminating Diantha's sleeping face. She suddenly remembered that they'd never asked Aibeck about the Aeralia. Eventually, exhaustion overtook Anastasia, and she drifted off into a restless sleep.

The young girl stood at the edge of the cliff. Her bright green eyes looked into the valley below, taking in everything she saw. A pair of white feathered wings protruded from her back. The girl took a step off the side of the cliff, falling for a brief second, then flew. Her white hair fell into her face as she smiled, gliding, over the treetops of the valley.

Without warning, the scene shattered into black, the trees absorbed by the shadows, and the girl was no longer flying, but falling, bloody and broken. Anastasia was falling.

With an abrupt jolt, Anastasia found herself standing in a field. She ran besides a white haired boy, a group of young children chasing after them. A mage stood on the other end of the field. Anastasia waved the children off, yelling at them to escape, but a wall of flames engulfed them before they could.

The boy dashed towards the mage, ready to attack. With a wave of his hand, the mage snapped to boy's neck, killing him instantly. Anastasia ran towards the man, chanting in an unknown language. Just as her attack landed, the world turned white.

Anastasia gasped awake, sitting straight up. It no doubt was one of the weirdest dreams that she had ever had. She rubbed her forehead and swung her feet off the side of the bed. She raised her arms and stretched. Her arms felt heavy and, Anastasia knew that she had another day of walking ahead of her. Sighing, she stood up and headed off to the washroom.

Doran, Aibeck, and Diantha were already gathered downstairs. Diantha was staring at a bread-like pastry treat. Doran tossed one to Anastasia, and Anastasia fumbled with it before properly catching it.

"Eat it on the road. We're going now." Doran looked over his shoulder towards Anastasia and turned for the door. Aibeck was already at the door, holding it open. Diantha jumped up, and dashed outside, while Anastasia stood behind, tentatively staring onward. The dream from the night before still circled around her head. Anastasia shook the thought off, and stepped forward, continuing towards the wooden door, into the sunlight outside.

At the edge of the village, Aibeck and Doran caught a carriage and the four bundled on. The ride was bumpy, and every so often Anastasia would be jostled out of her seat. Despite the uncomfortable ride, she'd gotten a good view of the world outside. Aibeck had taken the time to point out each creature, and basic plants that they'd passed.

A thought from the previous night resurfaced in Anastasia's head again once she noticed that Aibeck had failed to mention Aeralian.

"Hey," Anastasia looked up, "What's an Aeralia?" Diantha looked over to Aibeck and nodded frantically, agreeing with her friend.

"That guy from yesterday - the vampire, I think you said - mentioned it." Diantha added in. Aibeck looked thoughtful for a bit, then sighed.

"Honestly, I don't know much about that. It falls into the mythology genre." Aibeck pointed out. "If you want to learn about it, I say that you dig out some books in the library once we get to the Hall." Anastasia dipped her head, while Diantha replied with a brisk 'alright'.

Another day and a half passed of travelling. Finally, the group arrived at the Apprentice hall. The building did not look as grand as Anastasia had expected it. It took the appearance of a quaint wooden cottage, and sat at the crest of a hill, which overlooked a wooded forest.

"That's it." Diantha stared at the cabin with her arms crossed.

Aibeck smirked. "You seem to be forgetting about something called magic." Diantha scoffed, and started up the gravel path towards the wooden building.

Aibeck knocked on the wooden door. "Open up. We're back." The door creaked open, and a blonde haired Felan with blue eyes peeked out.

The girl stared past Aibeck towards Anastasia and Diantha. "And who are those two. Did you guys kidnap someone again?"

Aibeck smiled and patted the young girl on the head. "Nope. We got orders to bring them to Warren and Sylvia, so here we are." The girl looked suspicious for a bit, then nodded, and opened the door all the way.

Doran walked by Anastasia mumbling. "That wasn't even kidnapping." Anastasia shot him a look, but the boy didn't notice. "All we did was sneak in a dragon egg." A small grin tugged at the sides of Anastasia's mouth. Who would've thought that cold, bitter Doran would've actually attempted to save a dragon.

She stepped up onto the wooden porch, through the wooden door, and into the building.

Anastasia understood what Aibeck had meant when he had referred to magic earlier. The cabin, despite its quaint appearance, was grand on the inside. The main room was completely constructed of wood, with a high ceiling, a crystal chandelier, and painting and shelves lining the walls. At the end of the room, was a staircase, which at the top, split into two, each walkway leading to different sides of the building. Behind the staircase, was a pair of dark oak double-doors.

The blonde haired Felan had walked off to the staircase. The creatures of that world still intrigued Anastasia. The young girl looked to be about seven or eight. She had sharp blue eyes, with the slitted pupils of a cat. Both her ears and tail, which were that of a cat's, were a light golden brown.

"Hey!" she yowled up. "Someone go and get Warren!"

A voice called back, "Hold on." The young Felan stared up impatiently. She then clambered up the stairs, jumping by three steps at a time.

"He's not here." An older girl appeared on the catwalk. She appeared to be around the same age as Aibeck. "I think he and Sylvia went out for some errands." She looked to be the older sister of the young girl, with the same cat-like blue eyes and blonde hair.

The younger girl nodded and jumped up the final few steps of stairs towards her sister. "You deal with it. I had to answer the door." The older girl sighed in response. She placed her hand over the railing of the catwalk and vaulted herself over the railing. The girl jumped from the second floor, and landed lightly on her feet on the bottom floor.

"So you two are back." the girl looked down at Aibeck. She sighed, and turned to Anastasia and Diantha. "Sorry 'bout that." She smiled sweetly. "Though I doubt that it was worse than having to deal with those two." She motioned to Aibeck and Doran.

Aibeck glared at the girl, obviously agitated, but the Felan took no notice.

"My name's Xanthe, the annoying pipsqueak from earlier was my little sister Aoi." Diantha nodded briskly, and introduced herself and Anastasia.

The girl turned to Aibeck. "So, what now?" Both boys ignored her and walked off towards the staircase.

Xanthe turned back to Anastasia and Diantha, sighing."What are you two by the way? Both of you look more human than the others." Diantha smiled sheepishly.

"Aibeck said I was a mage." She started off. "But none of us know what Anastasia is. That's probably why they took us here."

Xanthe nodded, "What about origins?"

"Human cities." Diantha responded blatantly. Xanthe dipped her head.

"Feel free to wander the bottom floor until Warren comes back." Xanthe turned around and lept up to the second floor catwalk, leaving Diantha and Anastasia alone on the first floor.

Diantha stood there confused, while Anastasia immediately set off. She walked behind the flight of stairs and pulled open the set of simple wooden doors. The doors opened up to a seperate room, this one with a sofa surrounding a table in the center and a fireplace against the far side of the wall. A maze of hallways led off from the room.

Anastasia wandered aimlessly through the corridors and eventually found herself in a library. The walls were covered with bookshelves, each shelf stuffed full of leather-bound books. Even more books were stacked on the ground against the shelves. Shelves had been place throughout the center of the room, and soared up to the vaulted ceilings. Anastasia stepped over a few books that had been left riddled across the ground and made her way through the maze of bookshelves throughout the room.

She came to a stop at a desk in the center of the library. On top of the desk, sat a stone that looked similar to the one that Anastasia had seen the old man from two days ago speak on. Reaching out her hand, Anastasia picked up the stone.

The rock was smoothly polished and was a rusty brown. Diantha reached over and took the stone from Anastasia, then proceeded to turn the artifact around in her hands.

Diantha suddenly froze and ran her finger along the surface of the stone. Anastasia leaned over for a closer look and saw the word "catalog" engraved onto the smooth surface.

"The heck?" Diantha stared at the engraving. "Great, guess this gem thing doesn't include written language." She scoffed and tossed the stone up into the air.

Anastasia smiled sheepishly and caught the stone out of the air. "I can read it."

Diantha gave her friend a judging look, then smiled. "Should've known. What does it say?"

"Catalog." Anastasia read. She ran her thumb over the inscription of the stone, wondering how to activate it. Without her knowing how, a bright screen-like plane suddenly appeared in front of Anastasia. It was set up a lot like a website on the internet back home, and Anastasia could easily navigate through the site. She took the stone to the desk, and sat down, scrolling through the list.

Diantha peeked over Anastasia's shoulder. "I guess you can read this too, huh?" Anastasia nodded in response, eyes glued to the screen.

After a bit of playing around with the system, Anastasia finally managed to filter out her search results to types of mythology and nonfiction regarding the Zylasian world. Anastasia reached under the desk and pulled out a pane of glass-like material. She glanced over back at the screen, eyes flickering over the text.

Anastasia turned over to her friend and handed the pane to Diantha. "Use this. It should automatically translate the text into English." Diantha nodded and held the pane up over glowing screen, smiling when the scriptures morphed into English letters.

Anastasia pointed off to a side of the library. "They said that you're a mage. There should be spellbooks over there." Diantha nodded and ran off into the maze of bookshelves in the direction which Anastasia pointed.

Anastasia sighed and turned around. She wandered through the library until she came across a wooden ladder. Anastasia stepped up onto a wooden rung and pulled herself up onto the catwalk that circled the whole of the library. Standing up, she had a great view of the library. She could see Diantha flipping through books in a corner of the library. Sighing, Anastasia stepped forward along the catwalk, and set in search of the books she seeked.

Diantha sat at the wooden, table, groaning. "I haven't read this much in forever." She sank into her chair, slowly sliding beneath the table. Anastasia scoffed at her friend, and continued flipping through the book that sat in front of her.

It was a collection of myths from different parts of Zylasia. So far, Anastasia hadn't found much information on the Aeralia. The book that sat in front of her, had fallen off of a shelf, and had the figure of an angel inscribed on the otherwise empty cover. That had caught Anastasia's eye, and she now sat at the table flipping through the large, 500-page book.

The door to the library creaked open, and three figures stepped in. Anastasia looked up from her book, and Diantha rushed to regain her posture. Xanthe stepped into the room with two people following her. One of them was a middle-aged man with orange-red hair and kind brown eyes. The other was a young woman with raven-black hair and piercing green eyes. Anastasia tensed when the gaze of the black-haired lady drifted to her. The silence was deafening.

Xanthe smiled slightly, then walked out of the room. "I'll go get the boys."

The black-haired lady scoffed. "Once again they're late."

"Give them a break." The man sighed, walking over to the table and pulling out a chair. "They've been through enough." He turned to the girls. "I assume that you two are Diantha and Anastasia." Diantha nodded respectfully in response.

"I'm the head mentor at this particular hall." The man spoke. "Call me Warren." Anastasia nodded. The door creaked open again, and Doran and Aibeck walked in.

Warren glanced back at the two boys for a brief second, then continued speaking. "I'm sure you already know those two." He started. "And this is my assistant, head-mentor-in-training, Sylvia." Sylvia dipped her head slightly. Anastasia winced. The look on Sylvia's face made it seem as if she would stab anyone with just a slight movement.

Doran slid out a chair and plopped down at the table. "Don't mind her." he leaned back and looked over at Anastasia. "She's always like that." Anastasia didn't look over acting as if she ignored the comment.

"Now," Warren leaned forward onto the table. "Why don't you four start explaining?"

After a brief overview of all the events of the previous two days, the room was silent. Sylvia stared into space, confusion lighting her eyes. Warren, however, had a strange look of amusement plastered on his face.

"The old man wasn't joking when he said that you two had brought some weird ones in this time." Warren chuckled. Diantha stared indignantly at him.

"You mind explaining?" Doran cut in. "None of us have any clue what the heck Anastasia is." Anastasia flinched, shooting a look at Doran.

Warren nodded thoughtfully, "I can't help with that."

"Alright," Warren started, "We'll discuss matters of the Aeralia later. I have my suspicions about that man who attacked you."Doran snapped to attention, no longer slouching and acting as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"From your descriptions, I assume that he is someone sent from Roquinea." Warren continued.

"Roquinea?" Diantha cut in. She whipped around to face Aibeck. "Explain."

Aibeck held his hands up in feign innocence. "Calm down."

"Our world is split into two kingdoms." Doran leaned forward with his palm beneath his chin. "Right now you're in the kingdom of Arcklyn. Roquinea is the other one."

Sylvia finally spoke. "The political relations between the two kingdoms have been tense ever since the assassination of the Roquinean ruler. It wouldn't be surprising if war were to break out soon." A silence hung over the room, the casual conversation they had all hoped to start earlier had been shattered by Sylvia's formalities.

"Alright" Aibeck attempted to break the silence. "What about the Aeralia."

"Yes," Warren started, "The version that I know I found in the library -" he pointed to the book in Anastasia's hands " - in that book."

Warren leaned forward, "Anastasia, Diantha, I assume that you two would be able to comprehend this concept a bit easier than those two."

"Just spit it out." Doran cut in. "What is it?"

Warren smiled lightly, "Well, humans would call it an angel."

Doran stared at his mentor, dumbfounded. "A what?"

Diantha snickered. "Look who's so smart now." Anastasia smiled slightly in response, though didn't see the humor in it.

Warren looked over to Diantha and Anastasia. "Why don't you two explain."

Diantha smiled smugly at Doran and started on a rant. "Angels are a common figure that appear mostly in human..." Anastasia sighed and opened the book she held in her hands. Once someone riled Diantha up, she'd generally rant for a good two to three hours.

"... basically a human, or mage in your case, with feathered wings-" Sylvia held her hand up, forcibly silencing Diantha.

"I think we've heard enough." Sylvia said coldly, glaring at Diantha. Anastasia smiled slightly, amused by the obvious look of irritation on Sylvia's face. "I already have to deal with those two every day." Sylvia motioned towards Doran and Aibeck. "Don't make me have to deal with another." Diantha nodded frantically, eager to get off of Sylvia's bad side, and both Doran and Aibeck went pale after the comment.

Warren smiled, amused by the scene before him.

"The Aeralia is a winged being that is believed to have gone extinct millenia ago." Warren started, snapping everyone back to attention. "There is evidence of its existence, however, it shows up mostly in ancient legends. According to the myths, the Aeralia is capable of all magic, including forbidden magics, and resistant to curses. Their deathblood is said to be the key ingredient to Mirian, the elixir that if consumed, will grant one unlimited power and immortality."

Anastasia nodded, memorizing every word that Warren had just said. It was quite obvious why the Roquineans would've wanted to capture the Aeralia, but it still bothered Anastasia. Why would the Roquineans risk capturing someone under the protection of a kingdom with who their relations with were already tense?

"Now," Warren stood up. "I recommend that all of you head over to the library and start researching." He looked over his shoulder and looked back at the group, his brown eyes focusing on Anastasia. "There are some things that you may have forgotten." Sylvia stood up and followed her former mentor. The two adults left the room, leaving the four children sitting at the table in silence.

Aibeck finally broke the silence. "Well, you heard him. Let's go."

Another hour passed of scouring through the expansive library. Anastasia had never finished the book she'd picked up earlier, and it now sat in a bag made of leather-like material. Diantha sat huddled in a corner of the library, going over spellbooks, dictionaries, and history books. The two boys were sitting on the upper floor, flipping through books.

Anastasia sighed and walked over to where Diantha sat. She took a seat next to her friend and withdrew the book from earlier. She'd already marked out the pages that had mentioned the Aeralia. Anastasia blocked out all surrounding noise, and fell into the pages of her book.

The epitome of both hope and fear

To humans, an angel

To creatures, a myth

A being of power

Vanished

But hidden

Thriving in its brethren

To emerge

When two white moons

Turn to blood

A poem scrawled in messy ink had caught Anastasia's eye. It didn't stand out next to the text on the rest of the page, but the text itself, was mysterious. Anastasia marked the page, making a mental note to go back and analyze the rest of the the text.

She looked over Diantha's shoulder and glimpsed the page she was reading.

The first thing Anastasia saw, was a pale skinned man with black hair.

He had one blood-red eye.

The other had been blinded with a significant scar.

Anastasia fell back, knocking over a stack of books as she did so. Diantha looked over at her friend, concern lighting her eyes.

"Hey, you good?" Diantha asked as Anastasia struggled to regain her balance, her limbs numb with shock. The two boys had heard the commotion and peeked from the railing on the second floor.

"I... think we'll need Warren again." Anastasia finally managed to choke out. "I think I know who attacked us."

The group was back at a wooden table, once again in the cramped library. It was meal hour, and all the apprentices had met up in the eating room.

"So," Sylvia started, glancing at Anastasia. "You know who attacked you?" Anastasia nodded and lifted the book that Diantha had been reading onto the table. Is was a history of the magic council of Arcklyn. She'd also seen Warren's face in the book, as the former ninth seat of the council. Anastasia opened the book up to the page she had seen earlier. The paper was worn and had a list of members of the council ever since its founding.

Anastasia pointed to the vampire labeled Gethin Amsel. "I saw his face when he transformed into a bat back at the marble hall."

Sylvia looked skeptical. "Are you certain?"

Anastasia nodded in response. "It's pretty hard to forget a scar like that one." Warren sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You seem to have failed to notice that he is also the first seat's deputy." Sylvia said. "It is incredibly difficult to accuse someone of such power without solid evidence."

Anastasia didn't falter. "Can't you just copy my memory of that or something? The professionals should be able to recognize him then."

Warren cut in. "It isn't as simple as that. Your not only trying to say that he attacked the Hall of Records, but that Gethin is also a spy from Roquinea. I'm fairly certain that man has more power than I did when I was a part of the Council." Diantha stared petulantly at Warren.

Sylvia sighed. "It wouldn't hurt to try. After that attack, I'm certain the authorities are willing to accuse anyone." She reached forward towards Anastasia. "I'll take that memory."

Another hour had passed since Sylvia had left for the capital. All of the apprentices were at their regular activities, so the main room seemed oddly quiet. On the contrary however, yelling could be heard from the corridor which led to the training room. Diantha lay sprawled out on an armchair, looking half asleep. The only other person in the room was Aibeck, who was working to decipher cryptic runes into Zylasian.

Without warning, the wooden double doors slammed open, and a young mage who looked to be around Anastasia's age fell out. Xanthe emerged shortly after, standing over him, with an enraged look on her face.

Aibeck glanced over smirking, "What'd you do this time?"

"I swear, nothing!" The mage scrambled frantically to his feet, dashing behind Aibeck. Xanthe smiled, a crazed look starting to show in her eyes.

"You call breaking my sword into three pieces 'nothing'?" she seethed, glaring at the boy. The young mage cowered in Aibeck's shadow, evidently fearful of what would befall him if he made just one wrong move. Diantha sat up, suddenly wide awake.

"What's going on?" She said brightly, gazing over at Xanthe.

"Oh, nothing much." Xanthe smiled, "but you could help me out and capture Remus." She pointed to the boy whimpering behind Aibeck.

Diantha, being naturally hyperactive and bored as heck at the moment, shrugged and agreed. "I kinda wanna see my magic too. This'll be a good time to try it out." Xanthe grinned, grateful that she had convinced Diantha to join her cause.

Anastasia turned her attention back to the notebook on the table in front of her. She'd taken multiple pages of notes on the Aeralia, creatures, the Magic Council, and the affairs of Roquinea and Arcklyn. Anastasia had also found some pages of cults and organizations and had several more pages surrounding those.

Sighing, she closed the notebook and slipped it into her bag. Anastasia stood up and walked past the ruckus. She slipped through the wooden double doors, heading away from the explosions that sounded behind her. Anastasia walked down the empty corridor, her footsteps echoing along the walls.

She could hear yelling, explosions and clanks of wood from further down the corridor. It felt as if the building were constantly changing around her, acting as a shifting maze of hallways, doors, and corridors. Anastasia walked towards the training room, pushing the metal doors open. A wooden lance flew past Anastasia, narrowly missing her.

"Hey!" Aoi rushed past Anastasia, a young boy about her age chasing after her. The two young children continued running around the room, dodging bolts of magic and swings of wooden swords. Anastasia cautiously stepped into the room, careful not to be hit by anyone. Warren stood in the corner, helping a young Lycan with his form with the sword.

He noticed Anastasia and smiled. "What brings you here?"

Anastasia shrugged, "Nothing really. Xanthe started a fight in the main room, and I didn't want to get caught in the crossfire." Warren chuckled good heartedly and walked over to Anastasia, leaving the boy to practice his stance on his own. He clapped his hands, the sound overpowering the clamor. The apprentices immediately stacked everything along the walls and filed out of the room.

"Jeez, I wish school was like this." Anastasia huffed. "Everything's so orderly here."

Warren laughed. "It's not always been like that. When I was their age, this place was a mess. It wasn't until the two boys came in did things start to calm down."

He smiled sadly. "Those two have been through a lot. Pretty much everyone here wants to be there for them during tough times." Anastasia glanced up on him, wanting to know more, but unwilling to ask.

"The brothers lost their parents as children. Most of the apprentices here were sent by their parents to train, but Doran and Aibeck showed up looking for refuge." Warren said. "Doran's incredibly close with all the apprentices since he practically grew up here." Anastasia nodded, unsure as to how to respond.

"With each sunrise, is a second chance." Warren said nostalgically. "That's what it was like for those two. They still haven't fully clambered over their past, but they're getting there."

He laughed good-heartedly. "Great. Now I sound like an old man." Warren glanced down at Anastasia. "and either way, it probably doesn't make any sense to you." Anastasia smiled lightly, but confusion clouded her thoughts. She continued down the corridor into the main room. She dropped her bookbag onto the ground and walked outside. The group of apprentices who had rushed out earlier were now outside of the entire complex, attempting to pin down Xanthe, who had chased Remus outside.

Diantha stood in the middle of the ruckus, smiling like an idiot, flinging magic every which way. Aibeck was trying to calm Xanthe down, who had Remus pinned down in an armlock. The only person who stood calmly amidst the ruckus was Doran, who stood in front of the wooden building, staring emotionlessly at his brother. Warren left Anastasia to break up to fight, leaving her alone.

She and Doran stood there, watching the rest of the apprentices mess around, smiling laughing. Anastasia didn't feel left out. Despite being friends with Diantha for all those years, she had rarely participated in any social activities. Diantha fit right in with the rest of the apprentices, laughing, fighting, and smiling.

Doran was like Anastasia. He was an outsider, someone who mingled with others, but didn't quite fit in. He was someone who was surrounded by others and had people who cared for him, but would generally prefer to keep to himself. Anastasia's method of doing so was to avoid others, but Doran, on the other hand, was to put up a cold demeanor to anyone at first meaning.

The scene in front of them seemed peaceful, familiar even.

Anastasia winced as a pain shot through her head. She put her hand over her eye, waiting for the pain to fade. For a split second, she saw not a group of apprentices messing around on a grassy field, but a group of young children, all of whom had white hair, playing in a field of flowers.

A white-haired girl sat in a grassy field. A group of young children were running circles around her. The girl flipped through a spellbook, a human boy peeking over her shoulder.

The peaceful scene, in both her vision, and in reality, was shattered with a loud crash. Anastasia snapped to attention. The group of apprentices were all on their feet, alert and poised. Anastasia glanced around frantically. Then she noticed a pine tree up in flames, not far from the hall. The reddish flames licked at the wood of neighboring trees, setting those trees alight.

Soon, it was an all out forest fire.

Warren rushed around frantically, ordering the group of twenty children to immediately leave the vicinity and head to the nearest village.

It was then, that Anastasia realized that something was off. Clearly, Warren had noticed it too. Soon, only she, Diantha, Aibeck, Doran, and Warren remained atop the burning hill. A flash of black passed in the corner of Anastasia's eye. Anastasia whipped around and caught sight of a cloaked figure. Anastasia could tell that it wasn't the same person as before; their figure was obviously feminine.

Warren immediately set chase after her. The cloaked women dashed into the burning woods, the two mages disappearing into the thick smoke.

Without knowing why, Anastasia found her feet rushing towards them. She dashed through the burning woods, the acrid smoke burning her eyes. Once again, the same phenomenon occurred. She saw a vision of a memory that wasn't hers. The searing heat was replaced with bitter cold, the burning woods replaced barren ice, and the cloaked figure, replaced with a blonde-haired male Aeralia.

The girl ran over the frozen ground, her bare feet numb from the cold. A blonde haired Aeralia ran in front of her. The cold air burned the girls lungs as she tried desperately to keep up. It was the only way she would survive.

A burning tree crashed to the ground behind Anastasia, shattering the vision. With unnatural reflexes, she dodged the splinters of woods and ash.

"What the heck are you doing?" A voice called out behind Anastasia, sounding above the crackle of fire and crashes of falling trees. Anastasia turned around and saw Doran. They locked eyes and for a brief second, Doran looked shocked. For some reason, she ignored him, turned around, and continued to chase after the cloaked figure.

Anastasia came to stop at a clearing, a ring of fire surrounding the area. The smoke burned her lungs, but she didn't notice it. Her only intent was the women in front of her. The lady's hood had slipped off during the chase and now revealed the face of a blonde-haired mage with ice-cold blue eyes. In the fire, her hair took on a reddish hue.

Warren stood across of her, ready to attack with the simplest movement,

"What do you want?" Anastasia spoke, her voice not sounding like her's. The lady merely smiled at her, saying nothing. The raging fired crackled around the three as they stood in the clearing.

The lady finally sighed, "Good gracious." She shot a cold look and Warren. "I was told to take Aelia, but I didn't think that there would be so many interferences."

The name Aelia rang through Anastasia's head. Without any warning, a searing pain shot through her head. The smoke started to burn at Anastasia's lungs, when it hadn't before. Anastasia stumbled back, coughing, barely keeping her balance, the fiery world in front of her starting to blur.

"Hey Aelia! There's a gathering..." "Come on! You're too slow Aelia!" Unknown voices sounded in Anastasia's head, all of which, mentioned a girl named Aelia.

The blonde-haired mage smiled and flicked her hand in Anastasia's direction. A bolt of bluish-black magic flew in her direction. The moment it came near her however, the magic disappeared in a flash of silver.

Anastasia glanced over to see that Warren had cast a defense spell, countering the magic which the female mage had cast.

Slowly, Anastasia started to lose sense of her surroundings. She soon her nothing but the crackling of fire. She watched the blurred image of the women speak. She only heard one word, "Amaru." She watched Amaru effortlessly restrain Warren, and tendrils of black magic engulf him.

The moment the magic ceased, nothing was left, but a pile of black ashes and dust.

It was then, did Anastasia realize the severity of her situation. She'd felt calm, for some reason, before, but now shock gripped hold of her.

"Not yet." Anastasia heard Amaru say, as the woman slowly backed away from Warren's remains. Amaru snapped her fingers, disappearing in a cloud of purple, just as Anastasia fell backwards, collapsing.

The world slowly dimmed around her, fading into black. The last thing Anastasia saw, was Doran, running panickedly towards her, magic protecting him from the smoke, a worried expression etched onto his face, his hand outstretched, trying to take hold of something he would never reach.

Then the world turned black.

Anastasia's head hurt, a lot. Everything from before was blurred and fuzzy.

Anastasia couldn't see anything. Everything around her was a blur of colors and shadows. She could hear jumbles of soft laughter, each bout cut off by a torrent of ear-piercing screams. Anastasia caught a scene of a childhood game, which quickly shifted into a bloody massacre.Throughout the mess of confusion, one figure remained solid. Anastasia could barely see her figure, but she could tell that the girl had white hair and green eyes.

Aelia. The name flashed through Anastasia's head again as her brain made the connection between the girl and the name. Despite her lack of feathered wings, it was obvious to Anastasia that the girl was the Aeralia.

Anastasia gasped awake, sitting up. She winced as she banged her forehead of a wooden headboard. Anastasia looked around. She was sitting on a bed in what looked to be a house of a village. Diantha was asleep on a chair nearby, and stirred as Anastasia swung her feet off the side of the bed.

"Hey! You're awake!" Diantha jumped up and ran towards the door. "Stay there." she ordered. "I'm gonna go get Xanthe." The black-haired girl dashed out of the room, leaving Anastasia sitting on the bed. Anastasia slipped off the bed, her bare feet numbing on the ice-cold wooden floors. She walked over to a nightstand, which had a mirror and gasped.

Her eyes were different. They weren't like her eyes from before, which were a natural shade of forest green. Now, they glowed a dull shade of emerald, and had the slitted pupils of a cat's.

Anastasia glanced down at herself. She was still dressed in the same clothes, but the burns and tears had been mended by magic, magic with an aura that Anastasia could see and recognized to be Aibeck's. On her forearm, Anastasia noticed an intricate silver design. It reminded her of a human tattoo, but it glowed with a silvery aura. The design was that of a white dove intertwined with a green dragon.

The door creaked open and Diantha and Xanthe stepped in smiling. "Oh, good. You're awake."

"How long was I out for?" Anastasia looked up.

Xanthe shrugged, "'bout two days."

"And everyone else?"

"Doran burned himself out teleporting you and him from up there. He's still passed out." Xanthe said, quickly running a check over Anastasia. "The others are fine. They'll be put under Sylvia's protection until further notice."

"You seem fine." Xanthe concluded, pulling away. "I'm no medical expert, but I say a bit of rest and you'll be good again. That's quite a bit of regeneration of practically destroying your lungs in that smoke." Anastasia smiled sheepishly in response.

"Seriously, what were you thinking?" Diantha playfully punched her friend on the shoulder. "You could've died."

Anastasia laughed nervously, "Honestly, I don't think..." She trailed off, lost in thought. Now that she thought about it, Anastasia could barely remember anything about what happened on the mountain. Everything was distorted and blurry.

"I don't know." Anastasia finally spoke. "I can't remember."

"How much do you remember?" Xanthe prodded.

Anastasia shrugged. "I know I was running through the woods, but after that everything's just blank." Xanthe nodded.

"Come on." Xanthe nodded, turning towards the door. "There's not much, but you still missed out."

Anastasia sat outside in the living, a cup of what tasted like hot chocolate sitting in her hands. Diantha sat on Anastasia's left, and Xanthe sat on Anastasia's right.

Xanthe sighed. "Warren never returned, so all the younger apprentices - including my sis - are staying at a separate village. Doran teleported down here, and we couldn't move you, so Aibeck, Diantha and I stayed."

"Ummm..." Anastasia tentatively stuttered. "I... can't help with the whole situation with the attacker, but... I know who the Aeralia is." That tentative sentence caught everyone's attention. Both Diantha and Xanthe stared at Anastasia.

"How?" Xanthe demanded. Anastasia laughed nervously, shrinking away from the older girls look, scrambling for a proper excuse.

"I don't know much, but I saw a picture before we left. She has white hair and blind-green eyes. Her name's Aelia."

Xanthe nodded. "That'll probably be useful later."

"Before the fire," Anastasia started, "I also saw a poem written in a book."

"Do you think you can recite it?"

Anastasia nodded. "It was, 'The epitome of both hope, and fear. To humans, an angel. To creatures, a myth. A being of power, Vanished, But hidden, Thriving in its brethren, To emerge, When two white moons, Turn to blood' I think."

Xanthe smiled. "It seems to be referring to the eclipse, which is tomorrow."

A crash sounded off to the side of the building, and Anastasia could hear the splintering of wood. Anastasia jumped to her feet, her drink spilling to the ground, and dashed to the room where the sound had originated.

She arrived to find Doran, standing, an enraged and pained look on his face, and Aibeck, attempting to calm his younger brother down. A portion of the bed from had been blown into chips of wood, evidently by an outburst of magic.

Diantha and Xanthe appeared not far behind Anastasia.

"What the heck is going on." Xanthe jumped in ahead of Anastasia.

Aibeck sighed, "I don't know. He woke up and he was like this."

Doran whipped around and saw Anastasia, his eyes lighted with fury. He whipped his arm out, and a bolt of magic flew towards Anastasia, only barely missing her, creating a smoldering hole in the wall.

Doran was breathing heavily as Xanthe and Aibeck tried to calm him down.

"You..." Doran never finished his sentence, as his knees gave out, and he collapsed, falling unconscious again.

"Geez." Aibeck sighed as he hauled his younger brother onto a chair. "First thing he does after waking up is start yelling and wearing himself out again. Classic."

Xanthe crossed her arms. "Cast a recovery spell or something on him. For the time being, he knows more than Anastasia." Aibeck nodded in response.

Anastasia stepped out of the room, Diantha tailing her. A piece of parchment sat on the table outside, a pen like instrument sitting by it. Anastasia quickly scrawled down a note, saying that she and Diantha were leaving.

"What's up with him." Diantha scoffed, once she and Anastasia were outside.

Anastasia shrugged. "I don't know. He seemed pretty panicked back on the mountain. It might have to do with Warren." Diantha shrugged, and sped up, drawing ahead of Anastasia. The two girls broke into a fast paced walk.

The village that surrounded them seemed to be abandoned. The house that Anastasia and Diantha had come from seemed to be the most intact building in the entire village. Most of the other houses were either missing windows or had entire portions of wall blown out.

Despite the damages, the village still felt complete. Anastasia could practically see villagers bustle through the abandoned and broken-down streets.

For the first time in what felt like a long time, things seemed as if they had returned to normal. It was just Anastasia and Diantha walking through empty streets in silence. There was no magic, no danger, no excitement.

The two girls who had once stood as humans wandered through the streets in silence, both lost in thought. After about an hour, they'd completed a circle around the village and arrived back at the doorstep of the village house they had come from.

Anastasia pushed open the wooden door and stepped in, the wooden floor creaking beneath her feet. Xanthe was sprawled out on the ground, while Aibeck sat leaning back on an armchair.

"He awake yet?" Anastasia called out, closing the door behind her.

Xanthe nodded. "Yeah, a while ago. He just glared at us then stalked off." Anastasia smiled meekly and took a seat on the floor.

"So, what next?" Diantha plopped down on the ground next to Anastasia.

Aibeck shrugged. "We're still waiting for him to tell us what he knows. After that, I think that we'll just head over to the Corashia. The place is known for its large expanse of observatories and libraries." Anastasia nodded.

The door creaked open, and Doran stepped into the room. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his hair was a complete mess.

"You look horrible." Anastasia said bluntly.

Doran scoffed. "No thanks to you." Diantha smirked slightly as Doran made his way over to the group and sat down.

"Alright. What happened?" Xanthe turned her head to stare at Doran.

"You guys really don't know anything don't you?" Doran glanced over and Xanthe.

"Just answer the danged question." Diantha seethed.

Doran rolled his eyes. "Anastasia ran up that mountain, following that white haired lady - Warren transmitted her name later. Amaru, he said - and when I caught up to her she'd passed out."

"Alright." Aibeck sighed. "While you two were out and Doran was unconscious, I notified Sylvia that we'll be heading to Corashia. Doran's witness statement didn't help much, so we'll be doing some research." Anastasia nodded.

Xanthe spoke up. "I'll head to where Aoi and the younger ones are. I'm leaving in about an hour. You guys are on your own." The rest of the group nodded.

"We'll leave tomorrow." Aibeck turned to the younger trio. "Rest while you can."

Anastasia jolted awake as the carrier they were riding in suddenly jolted to a side.

The vehicle itself was incredibly similar to human trains, however there was no engine, and the entire train floated about a foot off the ground, giving it a faster speed than human trains.

Anastasia glanced across from her. Aibeck was reading a book, while his brother was leaning back, asleep. Footsteps echoed of the train car walls as Diantha walked down the aisle back towards her seat.

"We will arrive at Corashia in two minutes." The intercom turned on. Aibeck closed his book and turned to shake his younger brother awake. Doran groggily blinked awake, sitting upright in his seat.

"How much longer?" He rubbed sleep out of his eyes.

"Two minutes." Aibeck responded, flicking his hand as the book he had been reading dissolved into bright particles.

Anastasia watched as flickers of black shadows flew by outside the train windows. She could see city lights in the distance, and for a moment, Anastasia felt as if she had returned home.

That illusion was shattered when the train pulled up to the Corashia station. Creatures were milling about the platform, rushing to their respective trains.

The vehicle slowed to a stop, and the double doors slid open as Anastasia stepped out onto the concrete platform. Cold wintry wind blew through Anastasia's hair as she her feet clacked onto the stone floor.

She could hear the others' footsteps behind her. After a bit of wandering through the maze-like station. Eventually, she slowed to a stop outside, standing in front of the glass sliding doors of the station. The climate of the area was drastically different than the weather back at the Apprentice Hall. Her breath came out in white clouds in front of her as Anastasia wrapped her arms around herself, shivering.

"We should've brought something warmer." Diantha stepped up beside Anastasia, shivering. "Who knew that it'd be so cold here." Anastasia smiled and stared off into the distance.

"Come on." Aibeck stepped in front of the girls. "We'll be heading to the main library. It's warmer in there. Stick by us. This city is huge, and right by the border. Tensions are tight as is." Diantha nodded, trailing in Aibeck footsteps as the group broke into a light jog.

Anastasia could hear the crunch of gravel underfoot as she and the rest of the group walked Corashia's streets. The cold wintry air stung Anastasia's cheeks.

The flutter of a cloak sounded above Anastasia's head, and the young girl tipped her head up to look, stopping in place. Something about it was off. Sure, the temperature was cold, but no one would wear a loose cloak like the one that Anastasia had heard.

"Come on." Aibeck called from further up ahead. Anastasia shook the thought out of her head, and dashed ahead, catching up to the rest of the group.

Another hour passed. Out of boredom, Anastasia had fallen asleep on an armchair while the others had gone through multiple textbooks.

She now sat wide awake, staring out the window. During the past hour, it had begun to rain, and quite harshly to. The patter of rain echoed off the windows of the library as Anastasia stood up, sighing.

"Hey I'm gonna go outside for a bit." Anastasia raised her arms above her head, stretching.

Aibeck looked over at her. "Right now? It's dark, and pouring like heck." Anastasia shrugged, walking towards the library door.

Diantha jumped up. "Can I go too? It's too stuffy in here for my own good."

Aibeck sighed, "Well, we might as well all go out then.

The group of four stepped out into the pouring rain. Aibeck and Doran kept themselves dry with telekinetic umbrella things. Diantha tried, and managed to keep herself dry for about four seconds, before failing the spell and letting about three gallons of water fall onto her.

Anastasia smiled at her friend as she pulled her hoodie over her head.

Her feet splashed through puddles on the stone road as Anastasia ran off, Diantha tailing behind her. Her hood slipped off in the cold wind, the rain hitting Anastasia's face. She could here Doran and Aibeck's footsteps behind her.

Eventually, the group came to a stop at the crest of a hill, just outside the city. Anastasia jogged along the muddy road, the rain turning into a light sprinkle. Her black hair was matted with rain.

Anastasia glanced backwards. "Come on." she smiled. Doran scoffed while Diantha scampered up the light hike.

Anastasia glanced over the hilltop. The lights of the city of Corashia twinkled in the distance. Once again, that nostalgic feeling of home resurfaced.

"Hey," Diantha stepped up next to Anastasia. "What are you gonna do when you get home?"

Anastasia shrugged. "I want to stay here, but I'm human."

Diantha laughed. "You, a human, wants to stay here, while I, a mage, wants to return home. Funny isn't it." Diantha stared off into the distance with a wistful look in her eyes. Anastasia smiled sadly.

Anastasia turned around, about to head back towards where the boys stood, when Diantha, gasped, grabbing Anastasia's arm.

"What-" Anastasia whipped around. She was met by Diantha's wide eyes.

"Look." Diantha pointed out towards the distance. Anastasia averted her eyes to that direction, squinting. At first, she saw nothing. Then, she noticed a strange orange-red hue in the sky.

She gasped. The two moons had overlapped each other and created a figure-eight shape. The effect of the overlap forced the two normally white moons to turn red.

Something about the sky was off. As Anastasia squinted, looking harder, she noticed billows of gray clouds surfaced from the area. It was smoke, and smoke meant fire.

"Good God." Anastasia turned around, running down the muddy road. "Imagine how many books could be destroyed by that."

Doran and Aibeck appeared to have also noticed the fire, and were both breaking into a run towards the city.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Anastasia froze. She recognized that voice, but who's voice was it?

Both Aibeck and Doran froze, whipping around. A woman with light blonde hair and a vampire with a blind eye stood atop a dead tree, staring down at the four children.

Flashes of a memory ran through Anastasia's head. The young girl froze. Amaru, that was the lady's name. She'd been at the apprentice hall. She'd attacked Anastasia. She'd attacked Warren. She'd killed Warren.

Anastasia froze in place, her body shivering with each shuddering breath.

"You." Anastasia glared up at Amaru. "You will pay." Without knowing why, Anastasia sprang up at the lady. Anastasia was weak, powerless, and Amaru was ridiculously overpowered, yet Anastasia followed through with her actions.

Amaru batted Anastasia away with a simple wave of her hand.

"Foolish." Amaru glared at Anastasia. "So powerless, yet you throw yourself into danger out of fury."

Anastasia gritted her teeth as she lay, pinned, on the ground. "You killed him!" She screamed. "You killed him!" Amaru ignored Anastasia, throwing the girl off to the side. Anastasia's head cracked against a rock, blood flowing from a gash in her temple.

Diantha had dashed up behind Anastasia, Doran and Aibeck behind her. They arrived to see Anastasia, laying on the ground, bleeding heavily from her head, yelling at Amaru, fury lighting her gaze.

Doran stood frozen in place. His expression told Anastasia that he had heard everything.

Anastasia struggled to stand up as Amaru turned towards the group of three mages.

"You again." Amaru clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "One'd think that you'd've learned your lesson, but that seems to not be the case." Gethin stepped up beside her and whipped his hand up. A bolt of red magic shot towards Doran. The young boy only barely dodged, and the spell hit a rock behind him, turning it into cinders.

Anastasia finally mustered up the strength to stand, and she dashed off to where her friends stood. Her legs were energized, and she felt no pain, despite the gaping wound on Anastasia's head. Anastasia had absolutely no clue where all that energy had come from, but she didn't bother to question it, especially when her nose picked up the telltale scent of a fire.

"Come on." Anastasia dashed off further into the woods. Doran and Diantha followed her without a second thought, and Aibeck dashed after Anastasia after a casting a quick captivity spell.

Anastasia dashed forward, pain suddenly shooting through her as the adrenaline died down. Eventually, she'd managed to draw ahead of the group and arrived at the crest of a cliff. The flames surrounded her now. Anastasia stood there, panting, exhaustion flowing through her limbs.

"Well, this seems to be the end of you." Anastasia whipped around. "Gethin believes we found the wrong person." Amaru stood, her cold eyes piercing Anastasia, "but that doesn't mean I believe him." Anastasia stood there, coughing, her eyes tearing up from the smoke.

Amaru smiled, lifting her hand up. "Good bye now."

Anastasia flew backwards, slipping off the cliff, towards the raging fire below. The world blurred around her as her head throbbed.

Then the world turned black.

Anastasia opened her eyes. She saw nothing but white in front of her. Groaning, Anastasia sat up, rubbing her forehead.

"Hello, Anastasia Weiss." A soft voice called out. Anastasia whipped around, surprised, and caught sight of a young girl around her age. She donned a light blue cloak with a ruby brooch and had snowy white hair. Her emerald green eyes were dull and unseeing.

Anastasia recognized those eyes. They were the same eyes she had seen that day the mages had attempted to wipe her memories, the same eyes in her previous vision. What stuck out most about that girl, were her wings. They protruded elegantly from her back, and were white, each feather seeming to glow. The girl smiled at Anastasia as Anastasia scrambled to her feet.

"You..." Anastasia finally managed to stutter. "Are Aelia, right?

Aelia dipped her head in response. "That is what they call me and what I call myself." She smiled sadly, her eyes gazing off into nothing. "I don't even remember my past, but I'm sure you do."

Anastasia stared up at Aelia, confused. "What?"

Aelia smiled down at Anastasia. "This will take some explaining." She sighed. "For starters, we are currently in your subconscious - or my subconscious, however you want to look at it."

Anastasia stared at Aelia. "Well that's cliche."

Aelia smiled. "I am not familiar with that human term, but I assume that it means something that reoccurs."

Aelia turned around, sighing. "You are familiar with the human concept of reincarnation I assume?" Anastasia nodded, unsure as to where the conversation was leading.

"Humans were fairly close when it came to the concept of reincarnation." Aelia started. "But they missed a lot of details. For one thing, the soul is not 'recycled' as one could think of it, but instead, fused with a different soul." Aelia started walking off in a direction of the endless expanse of white, her cloak making it seem as if she were floating. Anastasia scrambled after her.

"In my case, I was never meant to be reincarnated, but I was also never meant to die the time I did." Aelia sighed. "The only reason why we are as we are now is because of him." Aelia said the word with a voice of contempt and hatred, her blind eyes shining with rage.

"He killed my brother. My brother was not fortunate enough to be reincarnated with his memories." Aelia continued. "I died not long after my brother in an attempt to seal the man. I failed the spell, and died, but it still did its job."

"You-" Aelia held up her hand to silence Anastasia as the formerly-human girl attempted to speak.

"Patience." Aelia lowered her hand. "In all, one could say that I was one of the previous incarnations of you." The two girls continued at a steady pace through the white expanse of space.

Aelia snapped her fingers, and the space suddenly shifted into what looked like a grassy park from a human city. "My first reincarnation was that of a young girl who lived in ancient Greece. But she was human. After time, she died, and I found myself in the body of her daughter." Aelia jumped up onto a stone beam, holding her arms out to keep her balance.

"This went on for several more centuries." Aelia jumped off the beam and turned around to glance at Anastasia. "Until I became you." Aelia's blind eyes, though unseeing, were filled with life.

"You read the poem about the eclipse, yes?" Anastasia nodded in response.

"That is partial fact. It allows me to be able to communicate with you, though our souls will never fully fuse." Aelia said matter-of-factly.

"Maybe it was fate that you met Diantha, that you met Aibeck and Doran." Aelia smiled, "For the first time in a long time, I could feel again, I could live. They have my thanks." The scenery surrounding the two young girls began to fade into darkness, and Aelia started to walk away from Anastasia.

"I wish that I hadn't had to burden you with my mistakes, but it was the wish of fate." Anastasia heard through the darkness. "We are the same, but this life, is your life." Anastasia felt herself losing consciousness. She began to fall, her body engulfed by the darkness.

Anastasia wearily opened her eyes. The sky was an eerie red, and Anastasia could her the cries of war from the city below. Anastasia sat up, coughing as she inhaled the smoky air. Anastasia's head no longer throbbed, and she could tell that the wound had closed, but blood still caked her hair.

Come on. A soft voice sounded in Anastasia's head. We need to leave. This ledge isn't stable. Anastasia stood up shakily and stared upwards. The climb to safety was still quite a long way up, but Anastasia needed to make it if she were to survive.

Hold on Aelia transmitted into Anastasia's head again. Let me take over for a bit. You haven't used your wings before. Anastasia nodded, closing her eyes, and tried to relax mentally.

Aelia opened her eyes. She studied her surroundings and the quickest way for her to get herself to safety. It'd be difficult to fly back up to the top of the cliff without a boost, but that would mean that she'd have to jump off the side of the ledge Aelia was currently standing on and risk being burned by the angry flames below.

Aelia sighed and walked to the edge. Her feet caused a shower of pebbles to fall into the raging fire below. Aelia took a breath, her lungs filtering out the smoke of the fire, and jumped.

Anastasia was falling. It was just like that dream she'd had the first night she'd spent in Arcklyn. Her lungs burned from the smoky air, and the world flashed around her.

Aelia snapped to attention. Her wings unfurled, catching the wind and her decent slowed. With a singled graceful beat of feathers, she rose back up to the height of the ledge from which she had fallen from. Another second and Aelia stood at the top of the cliff.

Anastasia quickly glanced around, studying her surroundings. Despite the smoke, Anastasia felt as if she were breathing clean air. The markings on her arm however, burned with searing pain. Anastasia furled her wings, the soot stained feathers disappearing into her back. The fires had passed through the forest, and the only things that remained standing were the charred remains of century-old pines.

Anastasia walked forward into the forest of ashes, the burnt remains of what once thrived on the mountain staining the ground.

Aelia turned around after a few steps, and whipped out her hand. The ashes of the forest withered away into the ground, and seedlings broke through the dirt, turning the ground from black to green.

Anastasia lowered her hand. "They could track us with that."

Aelia smiled. But without, it would take years for life to return. Let it be.

Anastasia lowered her head, sighing. Anastasia Weiss closed her eyes, smiling. When she opened her eyes again, they were no longer a human's eyes, but the eyes of an Aeralia.

"Come one." Anastasia spoke to no one. "Let's go."

Anastasia finally arrived at the bottom of the hill. Burnt branches snapped beneath her feet as Anastasia made her way through the charred forest.

Eventually, Anastasia came to a stop at a village, just outside of Corashia. The small town had been spared by the fire and was on the outskirts, causing the village to remain relatively empty.

Pebbles crunched beneath Anastasia's feet as she wandered through the streets. A few villagers were rushing about, but otherwise the streets were empty.

One creature shot Anastasia a strange look, then scurried off onto another street. Anastasia winced. She knew that her soot and blood-covered form would no doubt freak someone out.

Hey. Think that you could do anything about what we look like right now? Anastasia thought. A few seconds passed after the thought. In a flash of silvery light, Anastasia's torn jacket and leggings were replaced with a black hoodie and jeans. The blood and soot had been cleaned from her face, and Anastasia's hair was held back in a high ponytail.

I assumed that this is a human style. Aelia transmitted. Anastasia dipped her head in thanks and continued forward.

The town was dim, only occasional wisps of aura flashed when a creature walked by. Anastasia could tell that the majority of the inhabitants didn't have much power. It was bad for the villagers, but good for her. The lack of magic in the area made it incredibly easy for Anastasia to track large amounts of aura. A significant trail snaked through the streets of the village, and Anastasia walked after it.

Eventually, Anastasia came to a stop at a secluded wooden house. The building was tucked away in a corner of the town, but it had a lively feel to it.

Your friends are in there. I can see three significantly strong auras. Anastasia nodded to Aelia's comment and stepped up to the front door.

Anastasia held her hand up to the door. It was unlocked. She pushed it slightly ajar. Candlelight illuminated the pavement where Anastasia was standing, and she could see a greenish aura inside. It was Doran's magic.

Anastasia slammed the door open and stepped into the room. A Lycan with black hair stared at her, obviously confused.

"Sorry." Anastasia winced, noticing the dramatics of her entrance. "Have you seen a group of three mages?" The Lycan stared at Anastasia for a bit, then nodded. She waved her hand, motioning for Anastasia to follow her.

The small house was warm and had a feel of home to it. Anastasia followed the Lycan and eventually came to a stop at the main living room.

"Wait here. I'll go get them." The Lycan turned around and headed out of the room. Anastasia dipped her head in response and took a seat on the floor.

Flames crackled in the fireplace, warming the entire house.

I don't trust her. Aelia's voice suddenly appeared in Anastasia's mind. Anastasia shrugged off the doubting voice of Aelia. If she were to attack, we could easily overpower her. And you said so yourself that the other's are here. Anastasia responded.

Anastasia could sense Aelia relenting. A clatter of footsteps echoed on the wooden walls as the Lycan reapproached the room, four other figures following her.

Anastasia looked up and saw Diantha. The young mage-girl looked shocked at first, then ecstatic, tackling Anastasia with a hug.

Anastasia laughed wearily, grateful that her friends were alright.

"How the heck are you alive?" Diantha pulled back and turned to scolding Anastasia. "Doran and I watched you fall off." Anastasia smiled wearily and glanced passed her friend.

"We thought you were dead." Doran murmured, glancing over at Anastasia, his eyes dark with worry and exhaustion. Aibeck stepped up in front of his brother, looking equally tired.

Anastasia smiled. "It's cause of what I am." Doran looked over at her, confusion clouding his gaze.

"Let me explain." Aelia spoke. Diantha flinched as she glanced over at her friend.

"What-" Diantha began, cutting off when Aelia held her hand up, using magic to silence Diantha.

"I said to let me explain." Aelia glared at Diantha, then lowered her hand. Aelia's eyes glowed with power, her cat-like green eyes analyzing each person in the room, judging them.

"First though. You all have my thanks." Aelia dipped her head in respect. "Had none of you met Anastasia, I wouldn't be here."

"Who are you?" Doran demanded, glaring at Aelia.

Aelia merely smiled. "No rush. Call me Aelia. I was named after my species, the Aeralia, and I am a previous incarnation of Anastasia." Diantha eyed Aelia suspiciously, studying the girl who was not Anastasia closely.

"Firstly. I believe the matters at hand concern us much more." Aelia glanced over and Aibeck, who dipped his head in agreement.

"As many questions as I have," Aibeck sighed "I do have to agree with her. There's a literal war going on outside, and we have two psychopaths trying to kill Anastasia." Doran scoffed, but nodded his agreement anyway. Diantha glared at Aelia, but finally responded with a curt "fine."

I don't understand how you are friends with her. Aelia silently thought. She could sense Anastasia's annoyance as her reincarnation thought, Get to know her and she's great. She's like this cause you're a random person who appears to be me. Aelia shrugged off the thought.

"I believe I know a spell that will be able truly defeat those two 'psychopaths' you speak of." Aelia held her hand out, silvery magic gathering in the center of her palm. "Over the years, I've perfected it, and it won't have the same consequences as before. However, as for the war you speak of, that part is difficult."

Anastasia took over. "Do you know any spells that could deal with that?"

Aelia paused. "Yes... but it's a forbidden magic. It'll reset the city and the memories of the people, but in my current state I am unable to cast it."

"Do you think that I could cast it?" Anastasia responded. Aelia stared off into space, falling into thought.

"Yes." Aelia finally concluded, "But there's a chance that the people will still remember what happened, though they'll have no reason to fight, and parts of the city would remain burning. Not to mention that your reputation would be tainted for using forbidden magic."

Anastasia shook her head. "That's fine. It gets the job done."

Diantha stared at the conversation between Aelia and Anastasia.

"You guys do realize that you sound like some mentally deranged person right?"

Aelia glanced over at Diantha. "We are the same person, and yes." Anastasia smiled at her friends remark.

"We should leave now. You have all gathered your senses, and we've regrouped. There's a war we have to stop." Anastasia said.

Aibeck sighed. "So, we're just all going to head out and charge into battle like a bunch of idiots?"

Aelia smiled. "Exactly."

Anastasia ran through the city, her footsteps echoing off the concrete walls. The fire had not yet reached that particular jurisdiction, but fighting had broken out. She could hear the screams of falling soldiers, and saw dead bodies littering the streets. Fresh blood stained the stone ground around Anastasia red.

Diantha and Aibeck tailed after her, their footsteps matching in time with Anastasia's. Aelia had cast a spell earlier, making the entire group wander the streets unseen by the warring creatures as they attempted to track down Gethin and Amaru.

But they found them first.

Before she knew what was happening, a blast of magic hit Diantha square in the chest, Anastasia, glanced back, shocked, and turned to Aelia.

Aelia sped up, leaving the rest of the group behind. What the heck are you doing? Anastasia screamed into Aelia's mind. Turn around and help them! Aelia ignored Anastasia's frantic protests. That spell won't kill her, though the effects are irreversible. I've used it myself multiple times when I was alive.Aelia sensed Anastasia's irritation, but was forced out of her thoughts when she heard another blast.

Aelia whipped around, and saw Aibeck, suspended in the air, a blank look on his face. It was the same spell. Aelia silently swore under her breath and cast a protection spell on Doran. She knew that they were going for the mages, so that it would be a two on one fight if Gethin and Amaru were to ever catch up to Aelia in a weakened state.

Aelia briskly jumped up onto a roof top, several stories above the ground, and left Doran on the ground below. The boy would be able to hold his own in the regular battlefield, especially with the protection spell Aelia had cast.

Anastas jumped off a roof, and landed on the slating of a lower building. She could see the auras of Gethin and Amaru behind her. Anastasia silently laughed to herself. Who knew that she'd find herself in such a cliche "rooftop chase"?

Aelia jumped off the roof, using magic to slow her decent. Gethin and Amaru made a fast chase after her. Aelia could still see Doran in the distance.

Anastasia knew that she had to lead the two mages away from her friend. Diantha and Aibeck had already been hit. What does that spell do?" Anastasia thought. It permanently wipes away any magical essence from a creature or mage, turning them either into an animal or human. Aelia responded. Anastasia nodded grimly. If there was no counterspell to it, that meant that both Aibeck and Diantha would be forced to live in the human world without their memories.

Aelia darted off to the side, losing sight of Gethin and Amaru for a brief second. By then, Doran was far behind, and well out of the shooting range for most ranged spells.

Anastasia jumped out of the way as a spell flew in her direction, the bolt of magic infused with Amaru's aura. Aelia withdrew herself into Anastasia's subconscious. I'll prepare the spell. It's all up to you now. Get them in an area where there's no one else around. Aelia's voice faded into the background of Anastasia's head.

Anastasia dashed through the city. The fire was drawing near, and less creatures milled about. The river of bodies fell behind Anastasia as she drew closer to the flames. A thick plume of smoke rose into the sky, forming a blotch of grey on the fiery red sky.

Anastasia skid to a stop in the middle of an empty lot, burning buildings and flames surrounding her. You good?Anastasia frantically thought.

Almost. Aelia replied.

Amaru and Gethin stepped into the raging flames. Anastasia turned to face them.

Amaru smiled. "See," she turned to Gethin. "I told you she was an Aeralia."

"No need to get all smug." Gethin shot a glare at his deputy. "All we need is her deathblood."

Amaru sighed and readied her magic. "Well, might as well get the job done."

Hurry up! Anastasia panickedly thought. If Aelia didn't speed up, Anastasia would have to hold her own. It'd be one rookie girl against two experienced mages. Amaru flung her arm forward, and a bolt of light flew directly to where Anastasia stood.

Anastasia lept away, a smoldering crater remained where she had stood. She swore under her breath when Gethin launched himself at her, fangs bared.

Anastasia side stepped, Gethin's attack only slicing the cloth of her sleeve. You done yet? Anastasia dashed off to the side. Yeah. I'll take over. Aelia responded.

Anastasia stepped back.

Aelia ran forward. She summoned a staff like apparition into her hands as Amaru darted towards Aelia. Gethin attempted to attack Aelia from the adjacent side. The chase of fox and rabbit continued between the three figures.

Aelia was an Aeralia, and never tired. Gethin and Amaru, however, eventually lost the energy to sustain their protection spells, both beginning to cough and gag at the thick smoke, tiring. Finally, Aelia stood triumphant, looking over her fallen enemies.

Aelia smiled down on Gethin and Amaru. " None of use have to fight anymore. Admit your defeat."

Amaru bared her teeth at Aelia, glaring as she struggled against her invisible bonds. "You'll have to kill us first." she spat.

Aelia stepped towards the two mages, lifting the staff like apparition into the air. She began to chant incoherent words, words, that even Anastasia could not translate. In a flash of light, Gethin and Amaru froze. They slowly faded away into the background of the soot covered ground.

Anastasia double over, her insides aching from the exhaustion. She stood upright again, chanting in time to Aelia's methodic words inside her head. The world around Anastasia reset, the dead bodies, disappearing, replaced with living ones. All the soot and flames disappeared, but the remains of burnt buildings remained.

Anastasia sighed and looked up towards the red sky.

Aelia stood in the clearing and lifted the staff above her head. "It's over."

Anastasia stared out over the city. A year had passed since the battle between Aelia and Gethin and Amaru. Sighing, she leaned over the railing on the terrace. The lights of Corashia sparkled against the dark of the rest of the city, flickering and dancing like fireflies. A lot had changed in the frame of time that had passed. Anastasia stepped up onto the railing and stepped off. The wind rushed by her face. As she fell, she unfurled her wings and flew. As she expected, the experience left her exhilarated.

The once war-torn city now stood, rebuilding itself piece by piece. The council of Arcklyn worked hard to rebuild the kingdom's relations with Roquinea. The mellow lights reminded Anastasia of photos that she had seen of the human city Paris. Her acutely heightened senses helped her pick out the creatures below. A group of trolls were working to rebuild what looked to be the remains of an observatory. A flock of bats, which Anastasia assumed to be vampires, fluttered across the sky, forming a patch of black against the already dark sky. Old buildings were being repaired, and new constructions rose up on top of the ashes of structures that would never see the light of day again.

After a couple minutes of flying above the city, Anastasia headed back to the newly built Apprentice Hall. A month after the old building burned to the ground, Sylvia had gotten permission from the council to build a new Hall in Corashia. The new building sat at the top of a hill that overlooked the busiest portion of the city. Anastasia landed onto the wooden porch that stretched from her room. Sylvia had chosen a great spot to build the Hall. The view from the hilltop was magnificent.

Anastasia furled her wings and walked into her room. It was the human equivalent of five in the morning, but she doubted that she would get any sleep. She assumed that it was the same for Doran. The memories of everything that happened still appeared in front of her eyes whenever she closed them, and she suspected that it was the same with Doran. His own brother had left him, heading to the human world, and Doran had lost his mentor, who'd sacrificed himself so they could escape, who was his only parent.

Anastasia sighed and snapped her fingers. Her nightdress shifted into a human-style hoodie and jeans with sneakers. As an Aeralia, sleep was not mandatory for her, but that wasn't the case for Doran. Anastasia creeped out of her room, careful not to disturb the other apprentices and headed towards Doran's room. After a soft knock on the door, Doran answered. As usual, his hair was a mess, and he had dark circles under his eyes.

Sighing, Anastasia walked into the room.

"Couldn't sleep?" Doran asked.

"I should be the one saying that." Anastasia sniffed, "And you know full well that I don't need sleep." Doran smiled weakly, then collapsed in an armchair.

"I spoke to Sylvia the other day." Anastasia started. "We can visit my hometown next week." Doran sat up in response, eyes wide in excitement, despite his exhaustion.

"She found out about you being unable to sleep." Anastasia smirked. Doran groaned. He'd used transformation and illusion magic to hide his exhaustion from the mentors, but clearly that had failed.

"We'll be able to visit your brother and Diantha a week from now. Sylvia said, 'You have permission to check on them, but you are to come off as human, and neither have memories of Zylasia or you two. Try your best not to come in contact with them, but if you do, act as strangers.'" Anastasia quoted. Doran couldn't hide his look of disappointment, but Anastasia knew that he was overjoyed either way.

Anastasia stalked back towards the door.

"By the way" she said, whipping around, "Sylvia said that you won't be able to go if you don't get at least four hours of sleep each night. That's already a really light restriction for her." Doran groaned in response and waved Anastasia off.

Anastasia stepped out into the dark hallway and closed the door behind her. She knew Sylvia would've let Doran go to the human world either way. Despite her cold demeanor, Sylvia had been through just as much as Anastasia and Doran had.

She leaned against the door as Aelia's voice sounded out in her head. Are you going to visit your human parents? Anastasia smiled. Maybe. There are too many memories from that time.

Anastasia walked towards her room, anticipation lighting her gaze. She walked towards the porch that extended from her room, just as the sun began to peek over the horizon. A shower of golden light bathed the entire city.

Warren had once said that each sunrise meant a new beginning, a second chance. Despite all the years, the weather, and everything that it had seen, the sun always climbed back up into the sky.

Anastasia would be like that. With every fall, she'd climb back up. She'd face each challenge with new energy. She'd slowly pick up the shards of Aelia's shattered past, the shards of her life, and piece them back together. She'd rebuild her own life, and help Doran climb back up to the top.

She'd continue to soar.

A crisp breeze whipped up a storm of golden leaves outside of the window.

Anastasia stared languidly outside, tuning out everything her teacher said.

It was autumn, one of her most favorite seasons, yet here she was, stuck inside a stuffy room, listening to her teacher drone on about history.

As the bell rang, Anastasia Weiss picked up her backpack and started out of the classroom.

It was the usual hallway rush, people standing in small groups throughout the hallway, talking, laughing, and messing around.

"Anastasia!" A black-haired girl cheerfully waved from the school entrance.

Anastasia sighed and walked over to her spunky friend. A few people had stopped in the hallway and were staring at Diantha. Diantha Chen stood in place, bouncing lightly on her feet, grinning.

"Honestly," Anastasia walked past Diantha, "I'm seriously starting to question why I'm friends with you."

Diantha grinned smugly in response, following Anastasia. "I don't know. Maybe it's 'cause I'm amazing."

"Sure, sure." Anastasia scoffed, a small smile making its way onto her face. The two friends walked out of school and were met with a gust of cold wind. Anastasia brushed her brown hair out of her vivid green eyes and continued forward.

Leaves crunched beneath their feet as they continued home. Diantha walked with a slight bounce in her step and stared up, her brown eyes reflecting the blue sky above. They veered off the sidewalk and slipped off into the woods, taking a shortcut back to their houses.

Diantha and Anastasia had known each other since they were young children. Anastasia was adopted, and Diantha lived with her mother and stepfather. Both girls had never met their fathers, and that was one of many things that had brought the two of them together.

It was the usual route home. They'd walk along the regular path, then veer off the road and cut through a trail in the woods, leading into the girls' backyards.

After a brisk walk, the girls ended up in their neighborhood. Anastasia clambered over her fence and jumped into her yard, while Diantha entered through the back gate of her house.

Anastasia turned the key in the lock and pulled open the glass sliding door. She shut the door behind her as she stepped into her house. Her adoptive father generally worked late into the night, and her adoptive mother didn't come home until around dinnertime. She dropped her backpack onto the ground by the kitchen table and stared around the quiet house.

Sighing, Anastasia sat down at the table, pulled out her computer, and started on her homework.

An hour passed, and the sun began to set. The front door opened, and Anastasia saw her mother walk in.

"I left food in the fridge." her mother said, "Feel free to grab whatever you want."

Anastasia nodded. "Sure."

Anastasia walked over to the refrigerator and pulled open the door. She grabbed some instant Chinese food, spun it in the microwave, grabbed the plate, and headed to her room. Placing the plate of food on her desk, Anastasia pulled out her computer. She plugged a set of headphones in and started surfing the web.

The next day, Anastasia walked through the forest towards her school. Diantha had gone ahead of her, and they'd arranged to meet in a clearing in the forest. Dry leaves and branches crunched beneath her feet as she stalked through the golden-leaved woods. In the midst of the clearing, their meeting point, stood Diantha. She waved as Anastasia walked towards her.

The two friends walked through the woods, only the rustle of branches overhead and crack of twigs underfoot breaking the silence. Things were peaceful. A small breeze tugged leaves off the branches that hung above.

A loud crash suddenly sounded, interrupting the peaceful silence. Diantha and Anastasia froze in place. Diantha, being the type of person she was, suddenly dashed off in the direction of the sound to investigate without warning.

"Hey!" Anastasia rushed off after Diantha. "Wait up!"

They stopped at a separate clearing, deeper in the forest, and off of the main trail. Two boys, one of which looked seventeen, the other thirteen, stood facing what seemed to be a large dog. The creature lunged towards one of the boys, coming closer to where Anastasia and Diantha stood, unseen by everyone and everything present in the clearing.

Anastasia stared at it as the creature neared.

That thing definitely wasn't a dog. From afar, it looked like a large pit bull, but up close, the thing looked like a demon. It had blood red eyes, and where the whites of its eyes were supposed to be, was black. Its shadowy fur seemed to fall downwards like mist, and dissolved around the creature's paws. An unseeing third eye sat in the center of the creatures forehead. It's jaws gaped open, and a set of large fangs protruded from its mouth. The creature itself stood to about the size of a small horse.

Anastasia wasn't sure how to respond to the situation in front of her. Diantha stood frozen by her side, a mixture of both amazement and fear shining in her eyes.

The creature lunged at the younger boy, jaws agape. With a brisk wave of his hand, the creature was suddenly swept off to the side.

Anastasia stared at the scene. It didn't make sense. She could've sworn that the boy had just pushed the creature, but he hadn't touched the thing. The taller boy waved his hand outward as the creature attempted to regain its footing, trapping it with a series of bright lights.

The dog-demon suddenly combusted, turning into a pile of dust. Nothing remained of it but a single black gemstone where it once stood. The older boy walked over, picked up the stone, and crushed it in his hand, a cloud of black forming as he did so.

Diantha and Anastasia stood, frozen, both still trying to comprehend the scene before them.

The younger boy turned in their direction. He froze.

In an instant, Anastasia and Diantha found themselves restrained, unable to move.

"How much did you see?" he demanded. Anastasia stood there, fear lighting her gaze. The boy had dirty blond hair. His ice blue eyes were cold. The taller boy walked over.

"Release them." He commanded. He had brown hair and eyes the same color as the shorter boy. Anastasia assumed that they were brothers. The younger boy scoffed and flicked his hand. Both Anastasia and Diantha fell to the wooded ground.

The older boy sighed, "Great, now because of you we need to bring them back."

The younger boy glowered. "They could've seen the demon."

Anastasia and Diantha climbed back to their feet, watching the two boys argue. The older boy stared down at his brother. He then turned his attention to Diantha and Anastasia, snapped his fingers. The ground dissolved beneath Anastasia's feet.

Once the ground solidified again, Anastasia found herself in the center of a city. She stood there, staring around, dumbfounded.

"Hey!" Diantha suddenly shouted, "Can't you guys explain?" She stood her ground indignantly. Diantha was responded with a silencing look from the older boy.

"Follow us, and don't even think about wandering off." The older boy turned around. A part of Anastasia wanted to retort, but fear of the unfamiliar surroundings overtook her, and she submissively followed.

Every building in the city that they walked around in looked like something straight from a fantasy. Most of the houses closer to the edge of the city were quaint and looked to be living quarters. As the group headed farther into the city, grand structures made out of clear crystal or white marble started to appear.

What caught Anastasia's attention even more were the people who were walking around. They most definitely weren't human. A human-like creature with a fluffy tail and wolf-like ears walked by and greeted the boys warmly. She'd shot a look at Anastasia and Diantha as if they were the weird ones.

The group eventually came to a stop at a white marble building. It looked as if it were a monument that was intended for a king. It seemed to be the tallest building in the area and had large stained glass windows. A set of white marble stairs led up to the two crystal front doors.

"Come on." The brown-haired boy stood at the top of the stairs. "They haven't got all day." Diantha shot a glare at the boy, but followed anyway. Anastasia tentatively followed her friend. She turned back and saw the younger boy. His face showed no expression. He shot a glare at Anastasia, and Anastasia continued forward. She didn't like the aura he gave off. It was disturbing, as if he were a wild animal that could snap and attack at any second.

The inside of the building was even grander than the outside. It was a single story, with a vaulted ceiling. Sunlight that shone through the windows stained the tiled floor multiple shades of color. More of the creatures that Anastasia had seen outside filed their way throughout the building.

The older boy had gone over to a wooden desk and was speaking with the person sitting behind it. So far, the two most human-looking people that Anastasia had seen throughout this whole ordeal were the two boys, but now, she could see another one behind the counter. He had blonde hair and, strangely, red eyes. His face was pale and expressionless, set in stone.

The older boy turned around and waved his brother towards him. The younger boy shot a look towards his brother and waved towards Anastasia and Diantha. The two friends followed the young boy towards the desk. The figure behind the table stared at them with a cold glare. He stepped out from behind the desk.

"Follow me." he commanded, turning around. Anastasia tensed. Those eyes weren't human. He acted like one and spoke like one, but there was no way that those eyes were human. They were red and had smaller pupils than a human's.

Thoughts collided in Anastasia's head as she tentatively followed the man. Diantha was her usual spunky self, despite her unfamiliar surroundings. She glared at the figure, but followed anyway. Anastasia was grateful that Diantha had followed orders for once. In their current situation, it'd be better that they followed the directions of those, however hostile they were, who knew the place.

Anastasia and Diantha followed the figure through a door at the back of the building. The two boys from the woods followed. The older boy stayed up front with the red-eyed man, while the younger boy fell back, walking just in front of Diantha and Anastasia.

Through the door was a darker stone cavern. Rock formations hung from the ceiling and the sound of water dripping to the ground echoed throughout the cavern.

The group walked shrouded in silence, with only the drops of water and the crunch of gravel underfoot occasionally breaking the tranquility. Diantha had always been the type of person who enjoyed talking, and the silence was evidently bothering her. Her frustration showed on her face. Diantha gave up and suddenly spoke up.

"You could at least tell us your names. I'm Diantha, quiet girl over there is Anastasia." Her voice rang throughout the hollow cavern. Anastasia shot a silencing look at her friend, tensing. The older boy and the figure at the front paid no attention to her.

The younger boy, who walked in front of them, looked over his shoulder with a cold glare.

"It doesn't matter." he replied.

"Oh, so no one here has a name?" Diantha huffed sarcastically in response. Anastasia didn't like what was going on in front of her. Her best friend was picking a fight with someone who had easily defeated the monster from the forest. It was like throwing a rabbit in a fox cage and expecting nothing to happen.

"It doesn't concern you," the boy replied again. "And names mean nothing to those who won't meet again." He turned back towards the front.

The dark cavern ceiling subtly lightened and eventually transitioned into a circular wooden room. The room was completely empty, aside from a metal podium at the center with a crystal orb suspended above.

A short old man who reminded Anastasia of Albert Einstein suddenly appeared from behind a stone pillar.

"I got the message." the white haired man spoke.

The red-eyed man nodded, "They're all yours." He then proceeded to leave the premise. The white-haired man turned to look at the two boys.

"You again? This is the fourth time this month that I've seen you two."He scolded. "I honestly don't understand how you've still managed to keep you apprenticeships. Aibeck has a reputation to back him, but not you." The man turned to the younger boy. Anastasia listened intently to the conversation. She assumed that Aibeck was the older boy.

"Honestly I'm amazed too. Warren has always favored Doran, but I'm amazed that I haven't been demoted yet." Aibeck responded, sighing. "Sylvia's pretty much always breathing on my neck now because of this, though." Anastasia caught more names. Doran, she assumed, would be the younger boy. She assumed that Warren and Sylvia were their teachers.

The old man suddenly turned towards Anastasia and Diantha.

"Come on. Let's just get this over with." He waved his hand upward. Diantha suddenly froze next to Anastasia. Anastasia was confused at first, until a cold, numb feeling took over her body. It felt as if she had no control over herself, even though she was still consciously aware of everything she was doing, and everything around her. Diantha walked stiffly towards the podium. Only then, did Anastasia realize that there was a set of handcuff like rings attached to the podium.

Diantha walked towards the podium, her steps animated, and set her hands over the set of cuffs. The rings snapped closed around Diantha's wrists. Anastasia wanted to scream at her to snap out of it, but she herself couldn't break out of her restraints.

Doran and Aibeck walked to two opposite sides of the room and lifted their hands. The old man walked out of the room, to a portion of rock. A stone pillar rose in front of where he stood, and the white-haired man began to punch buttons on the machine.

The lamp-like fixture above the podium began to glow, slowly growing brighter and brighter. A sudden beam of white light shot towards where Diantha stood.

Time seemed to freeze.

Anastasia watched her friend scream, but she heard nothing. She watched Diantha double over in pain, but felt nothing. Diantha's eyes turned a milky white. It wasn't natural, but for some reason, it felt familiar.

Almost as quickly as it illuminated, the light subsided. Diantha hunched over the podium, gasping, her eyes slowly returning to their normal color.

"What the..." Diantha shook her head vigorously, in an attempt to clear her mind. "What did you guys just do?" Anastasia looked around the room. Both Aibeck and Doran looked shocked, while the old man was staring at Diantha intently, a mixture of confusion and intrigue plastered onto his face.

"Well... that didn't go as expected." The old man muttered. "Doran, Aibeck, keep an eye on her. We'll deal with this later." The two boys nodded, and Aibeck snapped his hand. The cuffs around Diantha's wrists snapped open. Diantha stared warily at the two boys, but sighed, and walked over to them anyway.

Anastasia felt herself start to move forward, towards the podium. She swore silently in her mind, as her feet brought her towards the center of the room. She had absolutely no clue what was going to happen; neither Doran nor Aibeck had supplied any information.

Unwillingly, she raised her arms through the cuffs. They snapped shut. She knew, that whatever happened to Diantha, would happen to her. For some strange reason, she wasn't scared. A part of her was confident, that she'd be fine, that it'd be like the past, when it really wasn't.

The strange machine started to power up again. The beam of light shot down again.

Everything happened in an instant. Anastasia's surroundings turned white. She was confused. She wasn't aware of it, but she had screamed. A part of her felt excruciating pain, but at the same time, it was comforting, a nostalgic even. Images flashed by her eyes. She couldn't recognize them, but she knew that she had seen them.

Right before everything around her faded, a pair of unseeing green eyes flashed. They studied Anastasia intently, despite that they couldn't see. The world faded back to normal.

Anastasia fell forward. She was back in control. Her head throbbed with a dull, aching pain. The cuffs around her wrists unlatched themselves, and retreated back into the surface of the podium.

Anastasia slowly regained her senses, then whipped her head around, and glared at the old man.

"Explain."

Even Anastasia was surprised at the authority in her own voice. The old man simply ignored her and walked of to a side of the cavern. He picked up a strange-shaped ruby-hued stone and spoke into it.

"Hey, get Warren or Sylvia down here. Those two picked up a strange one this time." he spoke. Anastasia assumed that it was some sort of a phone.

"They can't?" a pause, "All right, I'll get Doran and Aibeck to bring them to the Hall then." The old man set down the item. He looked over at Doran and Aibeck.

"Bring them over." He called out.

He then turned to Anastasia.

Suddenly, he seemed to be speaking in an accent. "Follow those two. All will be explained later." Anastasia nodded, her brow furrowing with confusion. He had been speaking perfect English earlier, but had suddenly switched to accented English. She shrugged the thought off and nodded respectfully in response.

Anastasia walked over to where the others stood. Diantha had stood her ground, and was glaring daggers at Aibeck.

"I demand an explanation." She spoke indignantly. "You brought us here, shot whatever that was at us and don't give us a danged clue as to what is going on here?"

It was the first time in ages since Anastasia had seen her friend this mad. Diantha was usually really spunky, and rarely lost her temper. At the current moment, Diantha's eyes were lit with frustration.

"It is none of your business unless we receive word otherwise." Aibeck coldly responded. Anastasia studied the older boy. It looked as if he were merely putting on an act at the moment (though Diantha was too frustrated to notice) but his brother definitely did not look as if he were faking.

Doran sighed and interrupted his brother. "The old man just told us to bring these two to the Hall. Unless you wanna get yelled at by Sylvia again, I say we hurry up and get ourselves over there." Aibeck simply nodded and turned to walk off, the other three trailing in his steps.

Anastasia stared at the ground, occasionally kicking stones off to the side of the path. Something felt off about earlier. When she had been struck by that beam of light, she had seen something. It was as if an entire movie had been played in front of her eyes in that instant, but too fast for her to comprehend. She pressed against her temples, the headache from earlier still lingering.

There was one thing that she was certain of. There had been a pair of unseeing green eyes. They'd only appeared for a moment, but longer than anything else. Anastasia couldn't get those eyes out of her head. They felt so familiar, but never in her life had Anastasia seen someone with blind eyes that were that shade of green.

She shook her head, attempting to clear her thoughts. Those eyes would be the least of her worries. At the moment, there were better things to worry about.

A dull rumble cut through Anastasia's thoughts. She snapped to attention and looked around. The cavern ceiling seemed to be shaking, but it soon diminished.

At first, Anastasia thought nothing of it, but then she saw the boys. Both Doran and Aibeck had apprehensive looks plastered on their faces. It wasn't normal. Only then, did she feel fear.

"That wasn't normal, was it." Diantha cut in, speaking Anastasia's thoughts.

Aibeck looked over and ran his fingers through his hair. "I've never seen it before, and that didn't look good."

Doran nodded in agreement. "The cavern is already unstable even with the enchantments. Unless you want to be turned into a slime, hurry up." Anastasia had absolutely no idea whatsoever as to what a slime was, but she guessed that it was like what she had seen in fantasy comics, though more squashed.

The group picked up their pace on the gravel path, rushing towards the main doors. Another bout of shaking grabbed hold of the cave. With each step closer to the exit, the less amount of time separated the tremors. Soon, pieces of rock began to fall from the ceiling. Although most were far from the path, Anastasia sped up her pace with each collapse.

Just as the double doors were within sight, a roaring sound filled Anastasia's ears. She whipped around and stared. The entire back portion of the cavern had completely collapsed onto the gravel road, turning into nothing but dust and pieces of rock. Dust billowed in clouds as Anastasia took a step back.

"Hurry up!" Diantha called from farther along the path. Anastasia whipped around, and started to run towards the main doors. She could see the fear lining her friend's eyes as the two of them dashed towards the doors.

Aibeck ran up ahead, and slammed into the door, pushing them open. The cavern continued to collapse behind them, chunks of stone crashing to the ground, kicking up dust and grit. Doran rushed through the doors, Diantha and Anastasia not far behind. Just as Diantha and Anastasia fell through the doors, the entire cavern collapsed behind them.

Anastasia sat on the ground, adrenaline rushing through her veins. Aibeck slammed the doors closed, preventing rubble from spilling out into the main hall, and snapped his fingers, the doors disappearing at the action.

Only then, did Anastasia notice the commotion around her. No one had noticed the their grand dash into the room. They had a good reason to do so too.

An entire wall and a good chunk of the ceiling were missing. Rubble littered the entire floor. In the center of the entire mess, stood a hooded figure in a black cloak. A group of people surrounded the figure in balance stance, but there were even more people off to the sidelines, injured, or unconscious.

"You think this is what caused the collapse?" Diantha whispered to Anastasia. Anastasia nodded meekly in response, petrified by what she saw in front of her.

The hooded figure suddenly turned their head. Anastasia tensed. It felt as if they were staring directly at her. The group of people took the opening and launched themselves at the hooded figure. The figure sidestepped the attack, the creatures flying right by them.

Without warning, the figure suddenly appeared in front of Anastasia. The group of people in the back quickly regained their composition and whipped around.

"Stay away from that human." One of the werewolves commanded.

The hooded figure smiled, "You really know nothing. When the time comes you'll regret not getting the Aeralia first." The figure looked down at Anastasia again, smirked, then suddenly shifted into a bat, and flew off.

For a brief instant, as the figure reformed, Anastasia saw his face. The face, of a black haired man, with a chiseled jaw and pale skin. What caught Anastasia's attention the most, were his eyes. One of his eyes was blood-red and had the pupil of a cat. The other had a significant scar and was gray and unseeing.

Anastasia winced as a bolt of pain shot through her head.

A white-haired girl stood in a wooden room, watching as a human boy stepped onto a podium. She ran towards the boy, hand outstretched, trying to save him, trying to save his memories. A beam of light struck down just as the girl pushed the boy out of the way. Pain shot through her body, but she remembered everything.

"What in Karshia's sake was that?" Doran's voice broke through the scene flashing through Anastasia's head.

Diantha whipped around and glared at Doran, "We're the ones who need explanations. You dragged from our regular lives into whatever this - " Diantha motioned around her, " - is." Doran continued to glare at her, though Anastasia could see that what had happened back in the capital had chipped away at his figure.

Aibeck sighed, "We'll explain later. Right now, we need to head to the Apprentice Hall and report this." Diantha clicked her tongue, but agreed anyway. The authorities had started to move in, and were milling about the building. Aibeck walked out of the building, Diantha not far behind, and Doran and Anastasia tailed at the very end.

Rays of moonlight shined through the window, tinted blue by the opaque curtains. A lamp sat at the center of the stone room and a wooden table below that. Anastasia, Diantha, and Doran were seated at the table, and Aibeck stood on the empty side. Diantha and Doran were seated across from each other. Diantha was glaring daggers at Doran, and Doran, was leaning back in his chair, ignoring the pesky girl in front of him.

The inn like building that they had checked into was on the edge of a small village. Dragon like people - Draconians, Doran had called them - wandered throughout the streets outside.

The group sat in an awkward silence, until Diantha finally snapped.

The girl jumped up out of her seat, the chair falling back as she did so, and slammed her hands onto the table. Anastasia flinched, and warily looked over at her friend.

"You said you'd give us an explanation." She demanded. Doran scoffed, but his brother silenced him with a glare.

Aibeck sighed, pulled out a chair, and sat down. "Fine. but put your hand on this." Aibeck snapped his fingers. Diantha stared at the stone, judging it, before deciding to touch it. The moment her hand made contact with the stone, it glowed green.

Aibeck nodded, "A mage." He handed the stone to Diantha.

"What's this thing?" for the first time in a while, Anastasia spoke up. Doran answered instead.

"It's a... uhm." Doran glanced up thoughtfully. "I don't think there's a pronounceable human word for this, but roughly translated, it means 'the stone that stores souls.'" Diantha glanced over at Doran, obviously cringing.

Aibeck added on, "It reads and stores a sliver of ones soul. It's pretty helpful for telling what someone is, and if destroyed, the soul sliver returns to the whole." Anastasia nodded thoughtfully, filing the information away in her head for later.

"It also translates our language into the wearers first language automatically." Doran said.

Anastasia flinched and looked up at him, confused. "Your language? You mean you weren't speaking English?"

Diantha stared at her friend, perplexed. "They were speaking in some squeaky French-Chinese combination this entire time." Anastasia stared at her friend.

Aibeck and Doran had tensed at her comment. Aibeck sighed and leaned forward on his elbows. Anastasia sat there confused, trying to sort everything out in her head. The introduction of this strange world was already a lot to take in, but now she stood as someone who could understand a foreign language - which wasn't even human - on contact.

Something in her mind connected the unseeing green eyes from earlier to the language skill, but Anastasia pushed the thought out of her mind, deeming it irrational.

"Wait..." Anastasia paused, suddenly remembering. "Does that mean that old man from earlier was speaking in your language too?"

Aibeck nodded. "You could call our language Zylasian, though all mages and creatures speak it, so we've had no reason to name it. The man from earlier was speaking in our native tongue whenever he spoke to us, but switched to human whenever he spoke to you." Anastasia nodded. It explained why the man had spoken with a strange accent when he had spoken to her, and not when he'd spoken to Aibeck and Doran.

"Sorry for the cold act from earlier." Aibeck said. "It's required by code that we're to be like that in order to drive humans away from this world."

"It's fine." Diantha nodded. "But seriously, please just explain everything. Like, what are creatures? What about mages? How does magic work? What is Anastasia?" Aibeck looked over at Diantha, amused by her string of question, and set to explaining.

Anastasia and Diantha both stayed up fairly late, listening to Aibeck explain the concepts of his world. He listed of creatures - Lycans, Aquaros, Felans, Draconians, etcetera - and explained the basics of magic. He stopped once he got to the last question.

"We can generally tell what someone is with those soul-stones." Aibeck snapped his fingers, a stone manifesting in his hand. "Green means mages, Black is Lycan, Blue is Aquaro, Yellow is Felan..." Aibeck listed. Anastasia nodded and reached for the stone. The moment she made contact with the smooth surface it, it felt as if she were being sucked in by the stone. A flash of light flashed in front of her eyes, and Anastasia saw the blind green eyes once again.

Anastasia blinked as the light faded back into the stone room, and looked down at her hand. Something was wrong. The stone was supposed to be one solid color. Instead, it was a clear emerald-green stone with flecks of silver and gold. When she held it up to the light, it became a light teal.

Aibeck sighed. "This is just getting strange." he muttered, as he ran his hand through his hair. "We'll be heading for the apprentice hall first thing tomorrow morning." Aibeck stood up. "Go and get some sleep. You'll need it."

Anastasia lay awake in the bed, staring at the ceiling. It was past midnight, and she knew that she needed the sleep, but too many thoughts rushed through her head. Moonlight shined in from the window of the room, illuminating Diantha's sleeping face. She suddenly remembered that they'd never asked Aibeck about the Aeralia. Eventually, exhaustion overtook Anastasia, and she drifted off into a restless sleep.

The young girl stood at the edge of the cliff. Her bright green eyes looked into the valley below, taking in everything she saw. A pair of white feathered wings protruded from her back. The girl took a step off the side of the cliff, falling for a brief second, then flew. Her white hair fell into her face as she smiled, gliding, over the treetops of the valley.

Without warning, the scene shattered into black, the trees absorbed by the shadows, and the girl was no longer flying, but falling, bloody and broken. Anastasia was falling.

With an abrupt jolt, Anastasia found herself standing in a field. She ran besides a white haired boy, a group of young children chasing after them. A mage stood on the other end of the field. Anastasia waved the children off, yelling at them to escape, but a wall of flames engulfed them before they could.

The boy dashed towards the mage, ready to attack. With a wave of his hand, the mage snapped to boy's neck, killing him instantly. Anastasia ran towards the man, chanting in an unknown language. Just as her attack landed, the world turned white.

Anastasia gasped awake, sitting straight up. It no doubt was one of the weirdest dreams that she had ever had. She rubbed her forehead and swung her feet off the side of the bed. She raised her arms and stretched. Her arms felt heavy and, Anastasia knew that she had another day of walking ahead of her. Sighing, she stood up and headed off to the washroom.

Doran, Aibeck, and Diantha were already gathered downstairs. Diantha was staring at a bread-like pastry treat. Doran tossed one to Anastasia, and Anastasia fumbled with it before properly catching it.

"Eat it on the road. We're going now." Doran looked over his shoulder towards Anastasia and turned for the door. Aibeck was already at the door, holding it open. Diantha jumped up, and dashed outside, while Anastasia stood behind, tentatively staring onward. The dream from the night before still circled around her head. Anastasia shook the thought off, and stepped forward, continuing towards the wooden door, into the sunlight outside.

At the edge of the village, Aibeck and Doran caught a carriage and the four bundled on. The ride was bumpy, and every so often Anastasia would be jostled out of her seat. Despite the uncomfortable ride, she'd gotten a good view of the world outside. Aibeck had taken the time to point out each creature, and basic plants that they'd passed.

A thought from the previous night resurfaced in Anastasia's head again once she noticed that Aibeck had failed to mention Aeralian.

"Hey," Anastasia looked up, "What's an Aeralia?" Diantha looked over to Aibeck and nodded frantically, agreeing with her friend.

"That guy from yesterday - the vampire, I think you said - mentioned it." Diantha added in. Aibeck looked thoughtful for a bit, then sighed.

"Honestly, I don't know much about that. It falls into the mythology genre." Aibeck pointed out. "If you want to learn about it, I say that you dig out some books in the library once we get to the Hall." Anastasia dipped her head, while Diantha replied with a brisk 'alright'.

Another day and a half passed of travelling. Finally, the group arrived at the Apprentice hall. The building did not look as grand as Anastasia had expected it. It took the appearance of a quaint wooden cottage, and sat at the crest of a hill, which overlooked a wooded forest.

"That's it." Diantha stared at the cabin with her arms crossed.

Aibeck smirked. "You seem to be forgetting about something called magic." Diantha scoffed, and started up the gravel path towards the wooden building.

Aibeck knocked on the wooden door. "Open up. We're back." The door creaked open, and a blonde haired Felan with blue eyes peeked out.

The girl stared past Aibeck towards Anastasia and Diantha. "And who are those two. Did you guys kidnap someone again?"

Aibeck smiled and patted the young girl on the head. "Nope. We got orders to bring them to Warren and Sylvia, so here we are." The girl looked suspicious for a bit, then nodded, and opened the door all the way.

Doran walked by Anastasia mumbling. "That wasn't even kidnapping." Anastasia shot him a look, but the boy didn't notice. "All we did was sneak in a dragon egg." A small grin tugged at the sides of Anastasia's mouth. Who would've thought that cold, bitter Doran would've actually attempted to save a dragon.

She stepped up onto the wooden porch, through the wooden door, and into the building.

Anastasia understood what Aibeck had meant when he had referred to magic earlier. The cabin, despite its quaint appearance, was grand on the inside. The main room was completely constructed of wood, with a high ceiling, a crystal chandelier, and painting and shelves lining the walls. At the end of the room, was a staircase, which at the top, split into two, each walkway leading to different sides of the building. Behind the staircase, was a pair of dark oak double-doors.

The blonde haired Felan had walked off to the staircase. The creatures of that world still intrigued Anastasia. The young girl looked to be about seven or eight. She had sharp blue eyes, with the slitted pupils of a cat. Both her ears and tail, which were that of a cat's, were a light golden brown.

"Hey!" she yowled up. "Someone go and get Warren!"

A voice called back, "Hold on." The young Felan stared up impatiently. She then clambered up the stairs, jumping by three steps at a time.

"He's not here." An older girl appeared on the catwalk. She appeared to be around the same age as Aibeck. "I think he and Sylvia went out for some errands." She looked to be the older sister of the young girl, with the same cat-like blue eyes and blonde hair.

The younger girl nodded and jumped up the final few steps of stairs towards her sister. "You deal with it. I had to answer the door." The older girl sighed in response. She placed her hand over the railing of the catwalk and vaulted herself over the railing. The girl jumped from the second floor, and landed lightly on her feet on the bottom floor.

"So you two are back." the girl looked down at Aibeck. She sighed, and turned to Anastasia and Diantha. "Sorry 'bout that." She smiled sweetly. "Though I doubt that it was worse than having to deal with those two." She motioned to Aibeck and Doran.

Aibeck glared at the girl, obviously agitated, but the Felan took no notice.

"My name's Xanthe, the annoying pipsqueak from earlier was my little sister Aoi." Diantha nodded briskly, and introduced herself and Anastasia.

The girl turned to Aibeck. "So, what now?" Both boys ignored her and walked off towards the staircase.

Xanthe turned back to Anastasia and Diantha, sighing."What are you two by the way? Both of you look more human than the others." Diantha smiled sheepishly.

"Aibeck said I was a mage." She started off. "But none of us know what Anastasia is. That's probably why they took us here."

Xanthe nodded, "What about origins?"

"Human cities." Diantha responded blatantly. Xanthe dipped her head.

"Feel free to wander the bottom floor until Warren comes back." Xanthe turned around and lept up to the second floor catwalk, leaving Diantha and Anastasia alone on the first floor.

Diantha stood there confused, while Anastasia immediately set off. She walked behind the flight of stairs and pulled open the set of simple wooden doors. The doors opened up to a seperate room, this one with a sofa surrounding a table in the center and a fireplace against the far side of the wall. A maze of hallways led off from the room.

Anastasia wandered aimlessly through the corridors and eventually found herself in a library. The walls were covered with bookshelves, each shelf stuffed full of leather-bound books. Even more books were stacked on the ground against the shelves. Shelves had been place throughout the center of the room, and soared up to the vaulted ceilings. Anastasia stepped over a few books that had been left riddled across the ground and made her way through the maze of bookshelves throughout the room.

She came to a stop at a desk in the center of the library. On top of the desk, sat a stone that looked similar to the one that Anastasia had seen the old man from two days ago speak on. Reaching out her hand, Anastasia picked up the stone.

The rock was smoothly polished and was a rusty brown. Diantha reached over and took the stone from Anastasia, then proceeded to turn the artifact around in her hands.

Diantha suddenly froze and ran her finger along the surface of the stone. Anastasia leaned over for a closer look and saw the word "catalog" engraved onto the smooth surface.

"The heck?" Diantha stared at the engraving. "Great, guess this gem thing doesn't include written language." She scoffed and tossed the stone up into the air.

Anastasia smiled sheepishly and caught the stone out of the air. "I can read it."

Diantha gave her friend a judging look, then smiled. "Should've known. What does it say?"

"Catalog." Anastasia read. She ran her thumb over the inscription of the stone, wondering how to activate it. Without her knowing how, a bright screen-like plane suddenly appeared in front of Anastasia. It was set up a lot like a website on the internet back home, and Anastasia could easily navigate through the site. She took the stone to the desk, and sat down, scrolling through the list.

Diantha peeked over Anastasia's shoulder. "I guess you can read this too, huh?" Anastasia nodded in response, eyes glued to the screen.

After a bit of playing around with the system, Anastasia finally managed to filter out her search results to types of mythology and nonfiction regarding the Zylasian world. Anastasia reached under the desk and pulled out a pane of glass-like material. She glanced over back at the screen, eyes flickering over the text.

Anastasia turned over to her friend and handed the pane to Diantha. "Use this. It should automatically translate the text into English." Diantha nodded and held the pane up over glowing screen, smiling when the scriptures morphed into English letters.

Anastasia pointed off to a side of the library. "They said that you're a mage. There should be spellbooks over there." Diantha nodded and ran off into the maze of bookshelves in the direction which Anastasia pointed.

Anastasia sighed and turned around. She wandered through the library until she came across a wooden ladder. Anastasia stepped up onto a wooden rung and pulled herself up onto the catwalk that circled the whole of the library. Standing up, she had a great view of the library. She could see Diantha flipping through books in a corner of the library. Sighing, Anastasia stepped forward along the catwalk, and set in search of the books she seeked.

Diantha sat at the wooden, table, groaning. "I haven't read this much in forever." She sank into her chair, slowly sliding beneath the table. Anastasia scoffed at her friend, and continued flipping through the book that sat in front of her.

It was a collection of myths from different parts of Zylasia. So far, Anastasia hadn't found much information on the Aeralia. The book that sat in front of her, had fallen off of a shelf, and had the figure of an angel inscribed on the otherwise empty cover. That had caught Anastasia's eye, and she now sat at the table flipping through the large, 500-page book.

The door to the library creaked open, and three figures stepped in. Anastasia looked up from her book, and Diantha rushed to regain her posture. Xanthe stepped into the room with two people following her. One of them was a middle-aged man with orange-red hair and kind brown eyes. The other was a young woman with raven-black hair and piercing green eyes. Anastasia tensed when the gaze of the black-haired lady drifted to her. The silence was deafening.

Xanthe smiled slightly, then walked out of the room. "I'll go get the boys."

The black-haired lady scoffed. "Once again they're late."

"Give them a break." The man sighed, walking over to the table and pulling out a chair. "They've been through enough." He turned to the girls. "I assume that you two are Diantha and Anastasia." Diantha nodded respectfully in response.

"I'm the head mentor at this particular hall." The man spoke. "Call me Warren." Anastasia nodded. The door creaked open again, and Doran and Aibeck walked in.

Warren glanced back at the two boys for a brief second, then continued speaking. "I'm sure you already know those two." He started. "And this is my assistant, head-mentor-in-training, Sylvia." Sylvia dipped her head slightly. Anastasia winced. The look on Sylvia's face made it seem as if she would stab anyone with just a slight movement.

Doran slid out a chair and plopped down at the table. "Don't mind her." he leaned back and looked over at Anastasia. "She's always like that." Anastasia didn't look over acting as if she ignored the comment.

"Now," Warren leaned forward onto the table. "Why don't you four start explaining?"

After a brief overview of all the events of the previous two days, the room was silent. Sylvia stared into space, confusion lighting her eyes. Warren, however, had a strange look of amusement plastered on his face.

"The old man wasn't joking when he said that you two had brought some weird ones in this time." Warren chuckled. Diantha stared indignantly at him.

"You mind explaining?" Doran cut in. "None of us have any clue what the heck Anastasia is." Anastasia flinched, shooting a look at Doran.

Warren nodded thoughtfully, "I can't help with that."

"Alright," Warren started, "We'll discuss matters of the Aeralia later. I have my suspicions about that man who attacked you."Doran snapped to attention, no longer slouching and acting as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"From your descriptions, I assume that he is someone sent from Roquinea." Warren continued.

"Roquinea?" Diantha cut in. She whipped around to face Aibeck. "Explain."

Aibeck held his hands up in feign innocence. "Calm down."

"Our world is split into two kingdoms." Doran leaned forward with his palm beneath his chin. "Right now you're in the kingdom of Arcklyn. Roquinea is the other one."

Sylvia finally spoke. "The political relations between the two kingdoms have been tense ever since the assassination of the Roquinean ruler. It wouldn't be surprising if war were to break out soon." A silence hung over the room, the casual conversation they had all hoped to start earlier had been shattered by Sylvia's formalities.

"Alright" Aibeck attempted to break the silence. "What about the Aeralia."

"Yes," Warren started, "The version that I know I found in the library -" he pointed to the book in Anastasia's hands " - in that book."

Warren leaned forward, "Anastasia, Diantha, I assume that you two would be able to comprehend this concept a bit easier than those two."

"Just spit it out." Doran cut in. "What is it?"

Warren smiled lightly, "Well, humans would call it an angel."

Doran stared at his mentor, dumbfounded. "A what?"

Diantha snickered. "Look who's so smart now." Anastasia smiled slightly in response, though didn't see the humor in it.

Warren looked over to Diantha and Anastasia. "Why don't you two explain."

Diantha smiled smugly at Doran and started on a rant. "Angels are a common figure that appear mostly in human..." Anastasia sighed and opened the book she held in her hands. Once someone riled Diantha up, she'd generally rant for a good two to three hours.

"... basically a human, or mage in your case, with feathered wings-" Sylvia held her hand up, forcibly silencing Diantha.

"I think we've heard enough." Sylvia said coldly, glaring at Diantha. Anastasia smiled slightly, amused by the obvious look of irritation on Sylvia's face. "I already have to deal with those two every day." Sylvia motioned towards Doran and Aibeck. "Don't make me have to deal with another." Diantha nodded frantically, eager to get off of Sylvia's bad side, and both Doran and Aibeck went pale after the comment.

Warren smiled, amused by the scene before him.

"The Aeralia is a winged being that is believed to have gone extinct millenia ago." Warren started, snapping everyone back to attention. "There is evidence of its existence, however, it shows up mostly in ancient legends. According to the myths, the Aeralia is capable of all magic, including forbidden magics, and resistant to curses. Their deathblood is said to be the key ingredient to Mirian, the elixir that if consumed, will grant one unlimited power and immortality."

Anastasia nodded, memorizing every word that Warren had just said. It was quite obvious why the Roquineans would've wanted to capture the Aeralia, but it still bothered Anastasia. Why would the Roquineans risk capturing someone under the protection of a kingdom with who their relations with were already tense?

"Now," Warren stood up. "I recommend that all of you head over to the library and start researching." He looked over his shoulder and looked back at the group, his brown eyes focusing on Anastasia. "There are some things that you may have forgotten." Sylvia stood up and followed her former mentor. The two adults left the room, leaving the four children sitting at the table in silence.

Aibeck finally broke the silence. "Well, you heard him. Let's go."

Another hour passed of scouring through the expansive library. Anastasia had never finished the book she'd picked up earlier, and it now sat in a bag made of leather-like material. Diantha sat huddled in a corner of the library, going over spellbooks, dictionaries, and history books. The two boys were sitting on the upper floor, flipping through books.

Anastasia sighed and walked over to where Diantha sat. She took a seat next to her friend and withdrew the book from earlier. She'd already marked out the pages that had mentioned the Aeralia. Anastasia blocked out all surrounding noise, and fell into the pages of her book.

The epitome of both hope and fear

To humans, an angel

To creatures, a myth

A being of power

Vanished

But hidden

Thriving in its brethren

To emerge

When two white moons

Turn to blood

A poem scrawled in messy ink had caught Anastasia's eye. It didn't stand out next to the text on the rest of the page, but the text itself, was mysterious. Anastasia marked the page, making a mental note to go back and analyze the rest of the the text.

She looked over Diantha's shoulder and glimpsed the page she was reading.

The first thing Anastasia saw, was a pale skinned man with black hair.

He had one blood-red eye.

The other had been blinded with a significant scar.

Anastasia fell back, knocking over a stack of books as she did so. Diantha looked over at her friend, concern lighting her eyes.

"Hey, you good?" Diantha asked as Anastasia struggled to regain her balance, her limbs numb with shock. The two boys had heard the commotion and peeked from the railing on the second floor.

"I... think we'll need Warren again." Anastasia finally managed to choke out. "I think I know who attacked us."

The group was back at a wooden table, once again in the cramped library. It was meal hour, and all the apprentices had met up in the eating room.

"So," Sylvia started, glancing at Anastasia. "You know who attacked you?" Anastasia nodded and lifted the book that Diantha had been reading onto the table. Is was a history of the magic council of Arcklyn. She'd also seen Warren's face in the book, as the former ninth seat of the council. Anastasia opened the book up to the page she had seen earlier. The paper was worn and had a list of members of the council ever since its founding.

Anastasia pointed to the vampire labeled Gethin Amsel. "I saw his face when he transformed into a bat back at the marble hall."

Sylvia looked skeptical. "Are you certain?"

Anastasia nodded in response. "It's pretty hard to forget a scar like that one." Warren sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You seem to have failed to notice that he is also the first seat's deputy." Sylvia said. "It is incredibly difficult to accuse someone of such power without solid evidence."

Anastasia didn't falter. "Can't you just copy my memory of that or something? The professionals should be able to recognize him then."

Warren cut in. "It isn't as simple as that. Your not only trying to say that he attacked the Hall of Records, but that Gethin is also a spy from Roquinea. I'm fairly certain that man has more power than I did when I was a part of the Council." Diantha stared petulantly at Warren.

Sylvia sighed. "It wouldn't hurt to try. After that attack, I'm certain the authorities are willing to accuse anyone." She reached forward towards Anastasia. "I'll take that memory."

Another hour had passed since Sylvia had left for the capital. All of the apprentices were at their regular activities, so the main room seemed oddly quiet. On the contrary however, yelling could be heard from the corridor which led to the training room. Diantha lay sprawled out on an armchair, looking half asleep. The only other person in the room was Aibeck, who was working to decipher cryptic runes into Zylasian.

Without warning, the wooden double doors slammed open, and a young mage who looked to be around Anastasia's age fell out. Xanthe emerged shortly after, standing over him, with an enraged look on her face.

Aibeck glanced over smirking, "What'd you do this time?"

"I swear, nothing!" The mage scrambled frantically to his feet, dashing behind Aibeck. Xanthe smiled, a crazed look starting to show in her eyes.

"You call breaking my sword into three pieces 'nothing'?" she seethed, glaring at the boy. The young mage cowered in Aibeck's shadow, evidently fearful of what would befall him if he made just one wrong move. Diantha sat up, suddenly wide awake.

"What's going on?" She said brightly, gazing over at Xanthe.

"Oh, nothing much." Xanthe smiled, "but you could help me out and capture Remus." She pointed to the boy whimpering behind Aibeck.

Diantha, being naturally hyperactive and bored as heck at the moment, shrugged and agreed. "I kinda wanna see my magic too. This'll be a good time to try it out." Xanthe grinned, grateful that she had convinced Diantha to join her cause.

Anastasia turned her attention back to the notebook on the table in front of her. She'd taken multiple pages of notes on the Aeralia, creatures, the Magic Council, and the affairs of Roquinea and Arcklyn. Anastasia had also found some pages of cults and organizations and had several more pages surrounding those.

Sighing, she closed the notebook and slipped it into her bag. Anastasia stood up and walked past the ruckus. She slipped through the wooden double doors, heading away from the explosions that sounded behind her. Anastasia walked down the empty corridor, her footsteps echoing along the walls.

She could hear yelling, explosions and clanks of wood from further down the corridor. It felt as if the building were constantly changing around her, acting as a shifting maze of hallways, doors, and corridors. Anastasia walked towards the training room, pushing the metal doors open. A wooden lance flew past Anastasia, narrowly missing her.

"Hey!" Aoi rushed past Anastasia, a young boy about her age chasing after her. The two young children continued running around the room, dodging bolts of magic and swings of wooden swords. Anastasia cautiously stepped into the room, careful not to be hit by anyone. Warren stood in the corner, helping a young Lycan with his form with the sword.

He noticed Anastasia and smiled. "What brings you here?"

Anastasia shrugged, "Nothing really. Xanthe started a fight in the main room, and I didn't want to get caught in the crossfire." Warren chuckled good heartedly and walked over to Anastasia, leaving the boy to practice his stance on his own. He clapped his hands, the sound overpowering the clamor. The apprentices immediately stacked everything along the walls and filed out of the room.

"Jeez, I wish school was like this." Anastasia huffed. "Everything's so orderly here."

Warren laughed. "It's not always been like that. When I was their age, this place was a mess. It wasn't until the two boys came in did things start to calm down."

He smiled sadly. "Those two have been through a lot. Pretty much everyone here wants to be there for them during tough times." Anastasia glanced up on him, wanting to know more, but unwilling to ask.

"The brothers lost their parents as children. Most of the apprentices here were sent by their parents to train, but Doran and Aibeck showed up looking for refuge." Warren said. "Doran's incredibly close with all the apprentices since he practically grew up here." Anastasia nodded, unsure as to how to respond.

"With each sunrise, is a second chance." Warren said nostalgically. "That's what it was like for those two. They still haven't fully clambered over their past, but they're getting there."

He laughed good-heartedly. "Great. Now I sound like an old man." Warren glanced down at Anastasia. "and either way, it probably doesn't make any sense to you." Anastasia smiled lightly, but confusion clouded her thoughts. She continued down the corridor into the main room. She dropped her bookbag onto the ground and walked outside. The group of apprentices who had rushed out earlier were now outside of the entire complex, attempting to pin down Xanthe, who had chased Remus outside.

Diantha stood in the middle of the ruckus, smiling like an idiot, flinging magic every which way. Aibeck was trying to calm Xanthe down, who had Remus pinned down in an armlock. The only person who stood calmly amidst the ruckus was Doran, who stood in front of the wooden building, staring emotionlessly at his brother. Warren left Anastasia to break up to fight, leaving her alone.

She and Doran stood there, watching the rest of the apprentices mess around, smiling laughing. Anastasia didn't feel left out. Despite being friends with Diantha for all those years, she had rarely participated in any social activities. Diantha fit right in with the rest of the apprentices, laughing, fighting, and smiling.

Doran was like Anastasia. He was an outsider, someone who mingled with others, but didn't quite fit in. He was someone who was surrounded by others and had people who cared for him, but would generally prefer to keep to himself. Anastasia's method of doing so was to avoid others, but Doran, on the other hand, was to put up a cold demeanor to anyone at first meaning.

The scene in front of them seemed peaceful, familiar even.

Anastasia winced as a pain shot through her head. She put her hand over her eye, waiting for the pain to fade. For a split second, she saw not a group of apprentices messing around on a grassy field, but a group of young children, all of whom had white hair, playing in a field of flowers.

A white-haired girl sat in a grassy field. A group of young children were running circles around her. The girl flipped through a spellbook, a human boy peeking over her shoulder.

The peaceful scene, in both her vision, and in reality, was shattered with a loud crash. Anastasia snapped to attention. The group of apprentices were all on their feet, alert and poised. Anastasia glanced around frantically. Then she noticed a pine tree up in flames, not far from the hall. The reddish flames licked at the wood of neighboring trees, setting those trees alight.

Soon, it was an all out forest fire.

Warren rushed around frantically, ordering the group of twenty children to immediately leave the vicinity and head to the nearest village.

It was then, that Anastasia realized that something was off. Clearly, Warren had noticed it too. Soon, only she, Diantha, Aibeck, Doran, and Warren remained atop the burning hill. A flash of black passed in the corner of Anastasia's eye. Anastasia whipped around and caught sight of a cloaked figure. Anastasia could tell that it wasn't the same person as before; their figure was obviously feminine.

Warren immediately set chase after her. The cloaked women dashed into the burning woods, the two mages disappearing into the thick smoke.

Without knowing why, Anastasia found her feet rushing towards them. She dashed through the burning woods, the acrid smoke burning her eyes. Once again, the same phenomenon occurred. She saw a vision of a memory that wasn't hers. The searing heat was replaced with bitter cold, the burning woods replaced barren ice, and the cloaked figure, replaced with a blonde-haired male Aeralia.

The girl ran over the frozen ground, her bare feet numb from the cold. A blonde haired Aeralia ran in front of her. The cold air burned the girls lungs as she tried desperately to keep up. It was the only way she would survive.

A burning tree crashed to the ground behind Anastasia, shattering the vision. With unnatural reflexes, she dodged the splinters of woods and ash.

"What the heck are you doing?" A voice called out behind Anastasia, sounding above the crackle of fire and crashes of falling trees. Anastasia turned around and saw Doran. They locked eyes and for a brief second, Doran looked shocked. For some reason, she ignored him, turned around, and continued to chase after the cloaked figure.

Anastasia came to stop at a clearing, a ring of fire surrounding the area. The smoke burned her lungs, but she didn't notice it. Her only intent was the women in front of her. The lady's hood had slipped off during the chase and now revealed the face of a blonde-haired mage with ice-cold blue eyes. In the fire, her hair took on a reddish hue.

Warren stood across of her, ready to attack with the simplest movement,

"What do you want?" Anastasia spoke, her voice not sounding like her's. The lady merely smiled at her, saying nothing. The raging fired crackled around the three as they stood in the clearing.

The lady finally sighed, "Good gracious." She shot a cold look and Warren. "I was told to take Aelia, but I didn't think that there would be so many interferences."

The name Aelia rang through Anastasia's head. Without any warning, a searing pain shot through her head. The smoke started to burn at Anastasia's lungs, when it hadn't before. Anastasia stumbled back, coughing, barely keeping her balance, the fiery world in front of her starting to blur.

"Hey Aelia! There's a gathering..." "Come on! You're too slow Aelia!" Unknown voices sounded in Anastasia's head, all of which, mentioned a girl named Aelia.

The blonde-haired mage smiled and flicked her hand in Anastasia's direction. A bolt of bluish-black magic flew in her direction. The moment it came near her however, the magic disappeared in a flash of silver.

Anastasia glanced over to see that Warren had cast a defense spell, countering the magic which the female mage had cast.

Slowly, Anastasia started to lose sense of her surroundings. She soon her nothing but the crackling of fire. She watched the blurred image of the women speak. She only heard one word, "Amaru." She watched Amaru effortlessly restrain Warren, and tendrils of black magic engulf him.

The moment the magic ceased, nothing was left, but a pile of black ashes and dust.

It was then, did Anastasia realize the severity of her situation. She'd felt calm, for some reason, before, but now shock gripped hold of her.

"Not yet." Anastasia heard Amaru say, as the woman slowly backed away from Warren's remains. Amaru snapped her fingers, disappearing in a cloud of purple, just as Anastasia fell backwards, collapsing.

The world slowly dimmed around her, fading into black. The last thing Anastasia saw, was Doran, running panickedly towards her, magic protecting him from the smoke, a worried expression etched onto his face, his hand outstretched, trying to take hold of something he would never reach.

Then the world turned black.

Anastasia's head hurt, a lot. Everything from before was blurred and fuzzy.

Anastasia couldn't see anything. Everything around her was a blur of colors and shadows. She could hear jumbles of soft laughter, each bout cut off by a torrent of ear-piercing screams. Anastasia caught a scene of a childhood game, which quickly shifted into a bloody massacre.Throughout the mess of confusion, one figure remained solid. Anastasia could barely see her figure, but she could tell that the girl had white hair and green eyes.

Aelia. The name flashed through Anastasia's head again as her brain made the connection between the girl and the name. Despite her lack of feathered wings, it was obvious to Anastasia that the girl was the Aeralia.

Anastasia gasped awake, sitting up. She winced as she banged her forehead of a wooden headboard. Anastasia looked around. She was sitting on a bed in what looked to be a house of a village. Diantha was asleep on a chair nearby, and stirred as Anastasia swung her feet off the side of the bed.

"Hey! You're awake!" Diantha jumped up and ran towards the door. "Stay there." she ordered. "I'm gonna go get Xanthe." The black-haired girl dashed out of the room, leaving Anastasia sitting on the bed. Anastasia slipped off the bed, her bare feet numbing on the ice-cold wooden floors. She walked over to a nightstand, which had a mirror and gasped.

Her eyes were different. They weren't like her eyes from before, which were a natural shade of forest green. Now, they glowed a dull shade of emerald, and had the slitted pupils of a cat's.

Anastasia glanced down at herself. She was still dressed in the same clothes, but the burns and tears had been mended by magic, magic with an aura that Anastasia could see and recognized to be Aibeck's. On her forearm, Anastasia noticed an intricate silver design. It reminded her of a human tattoo, but it glowed with a silvery aura. The design was that of a white dove intertwined with a green dragon.

The door creaked open and Diantha and Xanthe stepped in smiling. "Oh, good. You're awake."

"How long was I out for?" Anastasia looked up.

Xanthe shrugged, "'bout two days."

"And everyone else?"

"Doran burned himself out teleporting you and him from up there. He's still passed out." Xanthe said, quickly running a check over Anastasia. "The others are fine. They'll be put under Sylvia's protection until further notice."

"You seem fine." Xanthe concluded, pulling away. "I'm no medical expert, but I say a bit of rest and you'll be good again. That's quite a bit of regeneration of practically destroying your lungs in that smoke." Anastasia smiled sheepishly in response.

"Seriously, what were you thinking?" Diantha playfully punched her friend on the shoulder. "You could've died."

Anastasia laughed nervously, "Honestly, I don't think..." She trailed off, lost in thought. Now that she thought about it, Anastasia could barely remember anything about what happened on the mountain. Everything was distorted and blurry.

"I don't know." Anastasia finally spoke. "I can't remember."

"How much do you remember?" Xanthe prodded.

Anastasia shrugged. "I know I was running through the woods, but after that everything's just blank." Xanthe nodded.

"Come on." Xanthe nodded, turning towards the door. "There's not much, but you still missed out."

Anastasia sat outside in the living, a cup of what tasted like hot chocolate sitting in her hands. Diantha sat on Anastasia's left, and Xanthe sat on Anastasia's right.

Xanthe sighed. "Warren never returned, so all the younger apprentices - including my sis - are staying at a separate village. Doran teleported down here, and we couldn't move you, so Aibeck, Diantha and I stayed."

"Ummm..." Anastasia tentatively stuttered. "I... can't help with the whole situation with the attacker, but... I know who the Aeralia is." That tentative sentence caught everyone's attention. Both Diantha and Xanthe stared at Anastasia.

"How?" Xanthe demanded. Anastasia laughed nervously, shrinking away from the older girls look, scrambling for a proper excuse.

"I don't know much, but I saw a picture before we left. She has white hair and blind-green eyes. Her name's Aelia."

Xanthe nodded. "That'll probably be useful later."

"Before the fire," Anastasia started, "I also saw a poem written in a book."

"Do you think you can recite it?"

Anastasia nodded. "It was, 'The epitome of both hope, and fear. To humans, an angel. To creatures, a myth. A being of power, Vanished, But hidden, Thriving in its brethren, To emerge, When two white moons, Turn to blood' I think."

Xanthe smiled. "It seems to be referring to the eclipse, which is tomorrow."

A crash sounded off to the side of the building, and Anastasia could hear the splintering of wood. Anastasia jumped to her feet, her drink spilling to the ground, and dashed to the room where the sound had originated.

She arrived to find Doran, standing, an enraged and pained look on his face, and Aibeck, attempting to calm his younger brother down. A portion of the bed from had been blown into chips of wood, evidently by an outburst of magic.

Diantha and Xanthe appeared not far behind Anastasia.

"What the heck is going on." Xanthe jumped in ahead of Anastasia.

Aibeck sighed, "I don't know. He woke up and he was like this."

Doran whipped around and saw Anastasia, his eyes lighted with fury. He whipped his arm out, and a bolt of magic flew towards Anastasia, only barely missing her, creating a smoldering hole in the wall.

Doran was breathing heavily as Xanthe and Aibeck tried to calm him down.

"You..." Doran never finished his sentence, as his knees gave out, and he collapsed, falling unconscious again.

"Geez." Aibeck sighed as he hauled his younger brother onto a chair. "First thing he does after waking up is start yelling and wearing himself out again. Classic."

Xanthe crossed her arms. "Cast a recovery spell or something on him. For the time being, he knows more than Anastasia." Aibeck nodded in response.

Anastasia stepped out of the room, Diantha tailing her. A piece of parchment sat on the table outside, a pen like instrument sitting by it. Anastasia quickly scrawled down a note, saying that she and Diantha were leaving.

"What's up with him." Diantha scoffed, once she and Anastasia were outside.

Anastasia shrugged. "I don't know. He seemed pretty panicked back on the mountain. It might have to do with Warren." Diantha shrugged, and sped up, drawing ahead of Anastasia. The two girls broke into a fast paced walk.

The village that surrounded them seemed to be abandoned. The house that Anastasia and Diantha had come from seemed to be the most intact building in the entire village. Most of the other houses were either missing windows or had entire portions of wall blown out.

Despite the damages, the village still felt complete. Anastasia could practically see villagers bustle through the abandoned and broken-down streets.

For the first time in what felt like a long time, things seemed as if they had returned to normal. It was just Anastasia and Diantha walking through empty streets in silence. There was no magic, no danger, no excitement.

The two girls who had once stood as humans wandered through the streets in silence, both lost in thought. After about an hour, they'd completed a circle around the village and arrived back at the doorstep of the village house they had come from.

Anastasia pushed open the wooden door and stepped in, the wooden floor creaking beneath her feet. Xanthe was sprawled out on the ground, while Aibeck sat leaning back on an armchair.

"He awake yet?" Anastasia called out, closing the door behind her.

Xanthe nodded. "Yeah, a while ago. He just glared at us then stalked off." Anastasia smiled meekly and took a seat on the floor.

"So, what next?" Diantha plopped down on the ground next to Anastasia.

Aibeck shrugged. "We're still waiting for him to tell us what he knows. After that, I think that we'll just head over to the Corashia. The place is known for its large expanse of observatories and libraries." Anastasia nodded.

The door creaked open, and Doran stepped into the room. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his hair was a complete mess.

"You look horrible." Anastasia said bluntly.

Doran scoffed. "No thanks to you." Diantha smirked slightly as Doran made his way over to the group and sat down.

"Alright. What happened?" Xanthe turned her head to stare at Doran.

"You guys really don't know anything don't you?" Doran glanced over and Xanthe.

"Just answer the danged question." Diantha seethed.

Doran rolled his eyes. "Anastasia ran up that mountain, following that white haired lady - Warren transmitted her name later. Amaru, he said - and when I caught up to her she'd passed out."

"Alright." Aibeck sighed. "While you two were out and Doran was unconscious, I notified Sylvia that we'll be heading to Corashia. Doran's witness statement didn't help much, so we'll be doing some research." Anastasia nodded.

Xanthe spoke up. "I'll head to where Aoi and the younger ones are. I'm leaving in about an hour. You guys are on your own." The rest of the group nodded.

"We'll leave tomorrow." Aibeck turned to the younger trio. "Rest while you can."

Anastasia jolted awake as the carrier they were riding in suddenly jolted to a side.

The vehicle itself was incredibly similar to human trains, however there was no engine, and the entire train floated about a foot off the ground, giving it a faster speed than human trains.

Anastasia glanced across from her. Aibeck was reading a book, while his brother was leaning back, asleep. Footsteps echoed of the train car walls as Diantha walked down the aisle back towards her seat.

"We will arrive at Corashia in two minutes." The intercom turned on. Aibeck closed his book and turned to shake his younger brother awake. Doran groggily blinked awake, sitting upright in his seat.

"How much longer?" He rubbed sleep out of his eyes.

"Two minutes." Aibeck responded, flicking his hand as the book he had been reading dissolved into bright particles.

Anastasia watched as flickers of black shadows flew by outside the train windows. She could see city lights in the distance, and for a moment, Anastasia felt as if she had returned home.

That illusion was shattered when the train pulled up to the Corashia station. Creatures were milling about the platform, rushing to their respective trains.

The vehicle slowed to a stop, and the double doors slid open as Anastasia stepped out onto the concrete platform. Cold wintry wind blew through Anastasia's hair as she her feet clacked onto the stone floor.

She could hear the others' footsteps behind her. After a bit of wandering through the maze-like station. Eventually, she slowed to a stop outside, standing in front of the glass sliding doors of the station. The climate of the area was drastically different than the weather back at the Apprentice Hall. Her breath came out in white clouds in front of her as Anastasia wrapped her arms around herself, shivering.

"We should've brought something warmer." Diantha stepped up beside Anastasia, shivering. "Who knew that it'd be so cold here." Anastasia smiled and stared off into the distance.

"Come on." Aibeck stepped in front of the girls. "We'll be heading to the main library. It's warmer in there. Stick by us. This city is huge, and right by the border. Tensions are tight as is." Diantha nodded, trailing in Aibeck footsteps as the group broke into a light jog.

Anastasia could hear the crunch of gravel underfoot as she and the rest of the group walked Corashia's streets. The cold wintry air stung Anastasia's cheeks.

The flutter of a cloak sounded above Anastasia's head, and the young girl tipped her head up to look, stopping in place. Something about it was off. Sure, the temperature was cold, but no one would wear a loose cloak like the one that Anastasia had heard.

"Come on." Aibeck called from further up ahead. Anastasia shook the thought out of her head, and dashed ahead, catching up to the rest of the group.

Another hour passed. Out of boredom, Anastasia had fallen asleep on an armchair while the others had gone through multiple textbooks.

She now sat wide awake, staring out the window. During the past hour, it had begun to rain, and quite harshly to. The patter of rain echoed off the windows of the library as Anastasia stood up, sighing.

"Hey I'm gonna go outside for a bit." Anastasia raised her arms above her head, stretching.

Aibeck looked over at her. "Right now? It's dark, and pouring like heck." Anastasia shrugged, walking towards the library door.

Diantha jumped up. "Can I go too? It's too stuffy in here for my own good."

Aibeck sighed, "Well, we might as well all go out then.

The group of four stepped out into the pouring rain. Aibeck and Doran kept themselves dry with telekinetic umbrella things. Diantha tried, and managed to keep herself dry for about four seconds, before failing the spell and letting about three gallons of water fall onto her.

Anastasia smiled at her friend as she pulled her hoodie over her head.

Her feet splashed through puddles on the stone road as Anastasia ran off, Diantha tailing behind her. Her hood slipped off in the cold wind, the rain hitting Anastasia's face. She could here Doran and Aibeck's footsteps behind her.

Eventually, the group came to a stop at the crest of a hill, just outside the city. Anastasia jogged along the muddy road, the rain turning into a light sprinkle. Her black hair was matted with rain.

Anastasia glanced backwards. "Come on." she smiled. Doran scoffed while Diantha scampered up the light hike.

Anastasia glanced over the hilltop. The lights of the city of Corashia twinkled in the distance. Once again, that nostalgic feeling of home resurfaced.

"Hey," Diantha stepped up next to Anastasia. "What are you gonna do when you get home?"

Anastasia shrugged. "I want to stay here, but I'm human."

Diantha laughed. "You, a human, wants to stay here, while I, a mage, wants to return home. Funny isn't it." Diantha stared off into the distance with a wistful look in her eyes. Anastasia smiled sadly.

Anastasia turned around, about to head back towards where the boys stood, when Diantha, gasped, grabbing Anastasia's arm.

"What-" Anastasia whipped around. She was met by Diantha's wide eyes.

"Look." Diantha pointed out towards the distance. Anastasia averted her eyes to that direction, squinting. At first, she saw nothing. Then, she noticed a strange orange-red hue in the sky.

She gasped. The two moons had overlapped each other and created a figure-eight shape. The effect of the overlap forced the two normally white moons to turn red.

Something about the sky was off. As Anastasia squinted, looking harder, she noticed billows of gray clouds surfaced from the area. It was smoke, and smoke meant fire.

"Good God." Anastasia turned around, running down the muddy road. "Imagine how many books could be destroyed by that."

Doran and Aibeck appeared to have also noticed the fire, and were both breaking into a run towards the city.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Anastasia froze. She recognized that voice, but who's voice was it?

Both Aibeck and Doran froze, whipping around. A woman with light blonde hair and a vampire with a blind eye stood atop a dead tree, staring down at the four children.

Flashes of a memory ran through Anastasia's head. The young girl froze. Amaru, that was the lady's name. She'd been at the apprentice hall. She'd attacked Anastasia. She'd attacked Warren. She'd killed Warren.

Anastasia froze in place, her body shivering with each shuddering breath.

"You." Anastasia glared up at Amaru. "You will pay." Without knowing why, Anastasia sprang up at the lady. Anastasia was weak, powerless, and Amaru was ridiculously overpowered, yet Anastasia followed through with her actions.

Amaru batted Anastasia away with a simple wave of her hand.

"Foolish." Amaru glared at Anastasia. "So powerless, yet you throw yourself into danger out of fury."

Anastasia gritted her teeth as she lay, pinned, on the ground. "You killed him!" She screamed. "You killed him!" Amaru ignored Anastasia, throwing the girl off to the side. Anastasia's head cracked against a rock, blood flowing from a gash in her temple.

Diantha had dashed up behind Anastasia, Doran and Aibeck behind her. They arrived to see Anastasia, laying on the ground, bleeding heavily from her head, yelling at Amaru, fury lighting her gaze.

Doran stood frozen in place. His expression told Anastasia that he had heard everything.

Anastasia struggled to stand up as Amaru turned towards the group of three mages.

"You again." Amaru clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "One'd think that you'd've learned your lesson, but that seems to not be the case." Gethin stepped up beside her and whipped his hand up. A bolt of red magic shot towards Doran. The young boy only barely dodged, and the spell hit a rock behind him, turning it into cinders.

Anastasia finally mustered up the strength to stand, and she dashed off to where her friends stood. Her legs were energized, and she felt no pain, despite the gaping wound on Anastasia's head. Anastasia had absolutely no clue where all that energy had come from, but she didn't bother to question it, especially when her nose picked up the telltale scent of a fire.

"Come on." Anastasia dashed off further into the woods. Doran and Diantha followed her without a second thought, and Aibeck dashed after Anastasia after a casting a quick captivity spell.

Anastasia dashed forward, pain suddenly shooting through her as the adrenaline died down. Eventually, she'd managed to draw ahead of the group and arrived at the crest of a cliff. The flames surrounded her now. Anastasia stood there, panting, exhaustion flowing through her limbs.

"Well, this seems to be the end of you." Anastasia whipped around. "Gethin believes we found the wrong person." Amaru stood, her cold eyes piercing Anastasia, "but that doesn't mean I believe him." Anastasia stood there, coughing, her eyes tearing up from the smoke.

Amaru smiled, lifting her hand up. "Good bye now."

Anastasia flew backwards, slipping off the cliff, towards the raging fire below. The world blurred around her as her head throbbed.

Then the world turned black.

Anastasia opened her eyes. She saw nothing but white in front of her. Groaning, Anastasia sat up, rubbing her forehead.

"Hello, Anastasia Weiss." A soft voice called out. Anastasia whipped around, surprised, and caught sight of a young girl around her age. She donned a light blue cloak with a ruby brooch and had snowy white hair. Her emerald green eyes were dull and unseeing.

Anastasia recognized those eyes. They were the same eyes she had seen that day the mages had attempted to wipe her memories, the same eyes in her previous vision. What stuck out most about that girl, were her wings. They protruded elegantly from her back, and were white, each feather seeming to glow. The girl smiled at Anastasia as Anastasia scrambled to her feet.

"You..." Anastasia finally managed to stutter. "Are Aelia, right?

Aelia dipped her head in response. "That is what they call me and what I call myself." She smiled sadly, her eyes gazing off into nothing. "I don't even remember my past, but I'm sure you do."

Anastasia stared up at Aelia, confused. "What?"

Aelia smiled down at Anastasia. "This will take some explaining." She sighed. "For starters, we are currently in your subconscious - or my subconscious, however you want to look at it."

Anastasia stared at Aelia. "Well that's cliche."

Aelia smiled. "I am not familiar with that human term, but I assume that it means something that reoccurs."

Aelia turned around, sighing. "You are familiar with the human concept of reincarnation I assume?" Anastasia nodded, unsure as to where the conversation was leading.

"Humans were fairly close when it came to the concept of reincarnation." Aelia started. "But they missed a lot of details. For one thing, the soul is not 'recycled' as one could think of it, but instead, fused with a different soul." Aelia started walking off in a direction of the endless expanse of white, her cloak making it seem as if she were floating. Anastasia scrambled after her.

"In my case, I was never meant to be reincarnated, but I was also never meant to die the time I did." Aelia sighed. "The only reason why we are as we are now is because of him." Aelia said the word with a voice of contempt and hatred, her blind eyes shining with rage.

"He killed my brother. My brother was not fortunate enough to be reincarnated with his memories." Aelia continued. "I died not long after my brother in an attempt to seal the man. I failed the spell, and died, but it still did its job."

"You-" Aelia held up her hand to silence Anastasia as the formerly-human girl attempted to speak.

"Patience." Aelia lowered her hand. "In all, one could say that I was one of the previous incarnations of you." The two girls continued at a steady pace through the white expanse of space.

Aelia snapped her fingers, and the space suddenly shifted into what looked like a grassy park from a human city. "My first reincarnation was that of a young girl who lived in ancient Greece. But she was human. After time, she died, and I found myself in the body of her daughter." Aelia jumped up onto a stone beam, holding her arms out to keep her balance.

"This went on for several more centuries." Aelia jumped off the beam and turned around to glance at Anastasia. "Until I became you." Aelia's blind eyes, though unseeing, were filled with life.

"You read the poem about the eclipse, yes?" Anastasia nodded in response.

"That is partial fact. It allows me to be able to communicate with you, though our souls will never fully fuse." Aelia said matter-of-factly.

"Maybe it was fate that you met Diantha, that you met Aibeck and Doran." Aelia smiled, "For the first time in a long time, I could feel again, I could live. They have my thanks." The scenery surrounding the two young girls began to fade into darkness, and Aelia started to walk away from Anastasia.

"I wish that I hadn't had to burden you with my mistakes, but it was the wish of fate." Anastasia heard through the darkness. "We are the same, but this life, is your life." Anastasia felt herself losing consciousness. She began to fall, her body engulfed by the darkness.

Anastasia wearily opened her eyes. The sky was an eerie red, and Anastasia could her the cries of war from the city below. Anastasia sat up, coughing as she inhaled the smoky air. Anastasia's head no longer throbbed, and she could tell that the wound had closed, but blood still caked her hair.

Come on. A soft voice sounded in Anastasia's head. We need to leave. This ledge isn't stable. Anastasia stood up shakily and stared upwards. The climb to safety was still quite a long way up, but Anastasia needed to make it if she were to survive.

Hold on Aelia transmitted into Anastasia's head again. Let me take over for a bit. You haven't used your wings before. Anastasia nodded, closing her eyes, and tried to relax mentally.

Aelia opened her eyes. She studied her surroundings and the quickest way for her to get herself to safety. It'd be difficult to fly back up to the top of the cliff without a boost, but that would mean that she'd have to jump off the side of the ledge Aelia was currently standing on and risk being burned by the angry flames below.

Aelia sighed and walked to the edge. Her feet caused a shower of pebbles to fall into the raging fire below. Aelia took a breath, her lungs filtering out the smoke of the fire, and jumped.

Anastasia was falling. It was just like that dream she'd had the first night she'd spent in Arcklyn. Her lungs burned from the smoky air, and the world flashed around her.

Aelia snapped to attention. Her wings unfurled, catching the wind and her decent slowed. With a singled graceful beat of feathers, she rose back up to the height of the ledge from which she had fallen from. Another second and Aelia stood at the top of the cliff.

Anastasia quickly glanced around, studying her surroundings. Despite the smoke, Anastasia felt as if she were breathing clean air. The markings on her arm however, burned with searing pain. Anastasia furled her wings, the soot stained feathers disappearing into her back. The fires had passed through the forest, and the only things that remained standing were the charred remains of century-old pines.

Anastasia walked forward into the forest of ashes, the burnt remains of what once thrived on the mountain staining the ground.

Aelia turned around after a few steps, and whipped out her hand. The ashes of the forest withered away into the ground, and seedlings broke through the dirt, turning the ground from black to green.

Anastasia lowered her hand. "They could track us with that."

Aelia smiled. But without, it would take years for life to return. Let it be.

Anastasia lowered her head, sighing. Anastasia Weiss closed her eyes, smiling. When she opened her eyes again, they were no longer a human's eyes, but the eyes of an Aeralia.

"Come one." Anastasia spoke to no one. "Let's go."

Anastasia finally arrived at the bottom of the hill. Burnt branches snapped beneath her feet as Anastasia made her way through the charred forest.

Eventually, Anastasia came to a stop at a village, just outside of Corashia. The small town had been spared by the fire and was on the outskirts, causing the village to remain relatively empty.

Pebbles crunched beneath Anastasia's feet as she wandered through the streets. A few villagers were rushing about, but otherwise the streets were empty.

One creature shot Anastasia a strange look, then scurried off onto another street. Anastasia winced. She knew that her soot and blood-covered form would no doubt freak someone out.

Hey. Think that you could do anything about what we look like right now? Anastasia thought. A few seconds passed after the thought. In a flash of silvery light, Anastasia's torn jacket and leggings were replaced with a black hoodie and jeans. The blood and soot had been cleaned from her face, and Anastasia's hair was held back in a high ponytail.

I assumed that this is a human style. Aelia transmitted. Anastasia dipped her head in thanks and continued forward.

The town was dim, only occasional wisps of aura flashed when a creature walked by. Anastasia could tell that the majority of the inhabitants didn't have much power. It was bad for the villagers, but good for her. The lack of magic in the area made it incredibly easy for Anastasia to track large amounts of aura. A significant trail snaked through the streets of the village, and Anastasia walked after it.

Eventually, Anastasia came to a stop at a secluded wooden house. The building was tucked away in a corner of the town, but it had a lively feel to it.

Your friends are in there. I can see three significantly strong auras. Anastasia nodded to Aelia's comment and stepped up to the front door.

Anastasia held her hand up to the door. It was unlocked. She pushed it slightly ajar. Candlelight illuminated the pavement where Anastasia was standing, and she could see a greenish aura inside. It was Doran's magic.

Anastasia slammed the door open and stepped into the room. A Lycan with black hair stared at her, obviously confused.

"Sorry." Anastasia winced, noticing the dramatics of her entrance. "Have you seen a group of three mages?" The Lycan stared at Anastasia for a bit, then nodded. She waved her hand, motioning for Anastasia to follow her.

The small house was warm and had a feel of home to it. Anastasia followed the Lycan and eventually came to a stop at the main living room.

"Wait here. I'll go get them." The Lycan turned around and headed out of the room. Anastasia dipped her head in response and took a seat on the floor.

Flames crackled in the fireplace, warming the entire house.

I don't trust her. Aelia's voice suddenly appeared in Anastasia's mind. Anastasia shrugged off the doubting voice of Aelia. If she were to attack, we could easily overpower her. And you said so yourself that the other's are here. Anastasia responded.

Anastasia could sense Aelia relenting. A clatter of footsteps echoed on the wooden walls as the Lycan reapproached the room, four other figures following her.

Anastasia looked up and saw Diantha. The young mage-girl looked shocked at first, then ecstatic, tackling Anastasia with a hug.

Anastasia laughed wearily, grateful that her friends were alright.

"How the heck are you alive?" Diantha pulled back and turned to scolding Anastasia. "Doran and I watched you fall off." Anastasia smiled wearily and glanced passed her friend.

"We thought you were dead." Doran murmured, glancing over at Anastasia, his eyes dark with worry and exhaustion. Aibeck stepped up in front of his brother, looking equally tired.

Anastasia smiled. "It's cause of what I am." Doran looked over at her, confusion clouding his gaze.

"Let me explain." Aelia spoke. Diantha flinched as she glanced over at her friend.

"What-" Diantha began, cutting off when Aelia held her hand up, using magic to silence Diantha.

"I said to let me explain." Aelia glared at Diantha, then lowered her hand. Aelia's eyes glowed with power, her cat-like green eyes analyzing each person in the room, judging them.

"First though. You all have my thanks." Aelia dipped her head in respect. "Had none of you met Anastasia, I wouldn't be here."

"Who are you?" Doran demanded, glaring at Aelia.

Aelia merely smiled. "No rush. Call me Aelia. I was named after my species, the Aeralia, and I am a previous incarnation of Anastasia." Diantha eyed Aelia suspiciously, studying the girl who was not Anastasia closely.

"Firstly. I believe the matters at hand concern us much more." Aelia glanced over and Aibeck, who dipped his head in agreement.

"As many questions as I have," Aibeck sighed "I do have to agree with her. There's a literal war going on outside, and we have two psychopaths trying to kill Anastasia." Doran scoffed, but nodded his agreement anyway. Diantha glared at Aelia, but finally responded with a curt "fine."

I don't understand how you are friends with her. Aelia silently thought. She could sense Anastasia's annoyance as her reincarnation thought, Get to know her and she's great. She's like this cause you're a random person who appears to be me. Aelia shrugged off the thought.

"I believe I know a spell that will be able truly defeat those two 'psychopaths' you speak of." Aelia held her hand out, silvery magic gathering in the center of her palm. "Over the years, I've perfected it, and it won't have the same consequences as before. However, as for the war you speak of, that part is difficult."

Anastasia took over. "Do you know any spells that could deal with that?"

Aelia paused. "Yes... but it's a forbidden magic. It'll reset the city and the memories of the people, but in my current state I am unable to cast it."

"Do you think that I could cast it?" Anastasia responded. Aelia stared off into space, falling into thought.

"Yes." Aelia finally concluded, "But there's a chance that the people will still remember what happened, though they'll have no reason to fight, and parts of the city would remain burning. Not to mention that your reputation would be tainted for using forbidden magic."

Anastasia shook her head. "That's fine. It gets the job done."

Diantha stared at the conversation between Aelia and Anastasia.

"You guys do realize that you sound like some mentally deranged person right?"

Aelia glanced over at Diantha. "We are the same person, and yes." Anastasia smiled at her friends remark.

"We should leave now. You have all gathered your senses, and we've regrouped. There's a war we have to stop." Anastasia said.

Aibeck sighed. "So, we're just all going to head out and charge into battle like a bunch of idiots?"

Aelia smiled. "Exactly."

Anastasia ran through the city, her footsteps echoing off the concrete walls. The fire had not yet reached that particular jurisdiction, but fighting had broken out. She could hear the screams of falling soldiers, and saw dead bodies littering the streets. Fresh blood stained the stone ground around Anastasia red.

Diantha and Aibeck tailed after her, their footsteps matching in time with Anastasia's. Aelia had cast a spell earlier, making the entire group wander the streets unseen by the warring creatures as they attempted to track down Gethin and Amaru.

But they found them first.

Before she knew what was happening, a blast of magic hit Diantha square in the chest, Anastasia, glanced back, shocked, and turned to Aelia.

Aelia sped up, leaving the rest of the group behind. What the heck are you doing? Anastasia screamed into Aelia's mind. Turn around and help them! Aelia ignored Anastasia's frantic protests. That spell won't kill her, though the effects are irreversible. I've used it myself multiple times when I was alive.Aelia sensed Anastasia's irritation, but was forced out of her thoughts when she heard another blast.

Aelia whipped around, and saw Aibeck, suspended in the air, a blank look on his face. It was the same spell. Aelia silently swore under her breath and cast a protection spell on Doran. She knew that they were going for the mages, so that it would be a two on one fight if Gethin and Amaru were to ever catch up to Aelia in a weakened state.

Aelia briskly jumped up onto a roof top, several stories above the ground, and left Doran on the ground below. The boy would be able to hold his own in the regular battlefield, especially with the protection spell Aelia had cast.

Anastas jumped off a roof, and landed on the slating of a lower building. She could see the auras of Gethin and Amaru behind her. Anastasia silently laughed to herself. Who knew that she'd find herself in such a cliche "rooftop chase"?

Aelia jumped off the roof, using magic to slow her decent. Gethin and Amaru made a fast chase after her. Aelia could still see Doran in the distance.

Anastasia knew that she had to lead the two mages away from her friend. Diantha and Aibeck had already been hit. What does that spell do?" Anastasia thought. It permanently wipes away any magical essence from a creature or mage, turning them either into an animal or human. Aelia responded. Anastasia nodded grimly. If there was no counterspell to it, that meant that both Aibeck and Diantha would be forced to live in the human world without their memories.

Aelia darted off to the side, losing sight of Gethin and Amaru for a brief second. By then, Doran was far behind, and well out of the shooting range for most ranged spells.

Anastasia jumped out of the way as a spell flew in her direction, the bolt of magic infused with Amaru's aura. Aelia withdrew herself into Anastasia's subconscious. I'll prepare the spell. It's all up to you now. Get them in an area where there's no one else around. Aelia's voice faded into the background of Anastasia's head.

Anastasia dashed through the city. The fire was drawing near, and less creatures milled about. The river of bodies fell behind Anastasia as she drew closer to the flames. A thick plume of smoke rose into the sky, forming a blotch of grey on the fiery red sky.

Anastasia skid to a stop in the middle of an empty lot, burning buildings and flames surrounding her. You good?Anastasia frantically thought.

Almost. Aelia replied.

Amaru and Gethin stepped into the raging flames. Anastasia turned to face them.

Amaru smiled. "See," she turned to Gethin. "I told you she was an Aeralia."

"No need to get all smug." Gethin shot a glare at his deputy. "All we need is her deathblood."

Amaru sighed and readied her magic. "Well, might as well get the job done."

Hurry up! Anastasia panickedly thought. If Aelia didn't speed up, Anastasia would have to hold her own. It'd be one rookie girl against two experienced mages. Amaru flung her arm forward, and a bolt of light flew directly to where Anastasia stood.

Anastasia lept away, a smoldering crater remained where she had stood. She swore under her breath when Gethin launched himself at her, fangs bared.

Anastasia side stepped, Gethin's attack only slicing the cloth of her sleeve. You done yet? Anastasia dashed off to the side. Yeah. I'll take over. Aelia responded.

Anastasia stepped back.

Aelia ran forward. She summoned a staff like apparition into her hands as Amaru darted towards Aelia. Gethin attempted to attack Aelia from the adjacent side. The chase of fox and rabbit continued between the three figures.

Aelia was an Aeralia, and never tired. Gethin and Amaru, however, eventually lost the energy to sustain their protection spells, both beginning to cough and gag at the thick smoke, tiring. Finally, Aelia stood triumphant, looking over her fallen enemies.

Aelia smiled down on Gethin and Amaru. " None of use have to fight anymore. Admit your defeat."

Amaru bared her teeth at Aelia, glaring as she struggled against her invisible bonds. "You'll have to kill us first." she spat.

Aelia stepped towards the two mages, lifting the staff like apparition into the air. She began to chant incoherent words, words, that even Anastasia could not translate. In a flash of light, Gethin and Amaru froze. They slowly faded away into the background of the soot covered ground.

Anastasia double over, her insides aching from the exhaustion. She stood upright again, chanting in time to Aelia's methodic words inside her head. The world around Anastasia reset, the dead bodies, disappearing, replaced with living ones. All the soot and flames disappeared, but the remains of burnt buildings remained.

Anastasia sighed and looked up towards the red sky.

Aelia stood in the clearing and lifted the staff above her head. "It's over."

Anastasia stared out over the city. A year had passed since the battle between Aelia and Gethin and Amaru. Sighing, she leaned over the railing on the terrace. The lights of Corashia sparkled against the dark of the rest of the city, flickering and dancing like fireflies. A lot had changed in the frame of time that had passed. Anastasia stepped up onto the railing and stepped off. The wind rushed by her face. As she fell, she unfurled her wings and flew. As she expected, the experience left her exhilarated.

The once war-torn city now stood, rebuilding itself piece by piece. The council of Arcklyn worked hard to rebuild the kingdom's relations with Roquinea. The mellow lights reminded Anastasia of photos that she had seen of the human city Paris. Her acutely heightened senses helped her pick out the creatures below. A group of trolls were working to rebuild what looked to be the remains of an observatory. A flock of bats, which Anastasia assumed to be vampires, fluttered across the sky, forming a patch of black against the already dark sky. Old buildings were being repaired, and new constructions rose up on top of the ashes of structures that would never see the light of day again.

After a couple minutes of flying above the city, Anastasia headed back to the newly built Apprentice Hall. A month after the old building burned to the ground, Sylvia had gotten permission from the council to build a new Hall in Corashia. The new building sat at the top of a hill that overlooked the busiest portion of the city. Anastasia landed onto the wooden porch that stretched from her room. Sylvia had chosen a great spot to build the Hall. The view from the hilltop was magnificent.

Anastasia furled her wings and walked into her room. It was the human equivalent of five in the morning, but she doubted that she would get any sleep. She assumed that it was the same for Doran. The memories of everything that happened still appeared in front of her eyes whenever she closed them, and she suspected that it was the same with Doran. His own brother had left him, heading to the human world, and Doran had lost his mentor, who'd sacrificed himself so they could escape, who was his only parent.

Anastasia sighed and snapped her fingers. Her nightdress shifted into a human-style hoodie and jeans with sneakers. As an Aeralia, sleep was not mandatory for her, but that wasn't the case for Doran. Anastasia creeped out of her room, careful not to disturb the other apprentices and headed towards Doran's room. After a soft knock on the door, Doran answered. As usual, his hair was a mess, and he had dark circles under his eyes.

Sighing, Anastasia walked into the room.

"Couldn't sleep?" Doran asked.

"I should be the one saying that." Anastasia sniffed, "And you know full well that I don't need sleep." Doran smiled weakly, then collapsed in an armchair.

"I spoke to Sylvia the other day." Anastasia started. "We can visit my hometown next week." Doran sat up in response, eyes wide in excitement, despite his exhaustion.

"She found out about you being unable to sleep." Anastasia smirked. Doran groaned. He'd used transformation and illusion magic to hide his exhaustion from the mentors, but clearly that had failed.

"We'll be able to visit your brother and Diantha a week from now. Sylvia said, 'You have permission to check on them, but you are to come off as human, and neither have memories of Zylasia or you two. Try your best not to come in contact with them, but if you do, act as strangers.'" Anastasia quoted. Doran couldn't hide his look of disappointment, but Anastasia knew that he was overjoyed either way.

Anastasia stalked back towards the door.

"By the way" she said, whipping around, "Sylvia said that you won't be able to go if you don't get at least four hours of sleep each night. That's already a really light restriction for her." Doran groaned in response and waved Anastasia off.

Anastasia stepped out into the dark hallway and closed the door behind her. She knew Sylvia would've let Doran go to the human world either way. Despite her cold demeanor, Sylvia had been through just as much as Anastasia and Doran had.

She leaned against the door as Aelia's voice sounded out in her head. Are you going to visit your human parents? Anastasia smiled. Maybe. There are too many memories from that time.

Anastasia walked towards her room, anticipation lighting her gaze. She walked towards the porch that extended from her room, just as the sun began to peek over the horizon. A shower of golden light bathed the entire city.

Warren had once said that each sunrise meant a new beginning, a second chance. Despite all the years, the weather, and everything that it had seen, the sun always climbed back up into the sky.

Anastasia would be like that. With every fall, she'd climb back up. She'd face each challenge with new energy. She'd slowly pick up the shards of Aelia's shattered past, the shards of her life, and piece them back together. She'd rebuild her own life, and help Doran climb back up to the top.

She'd continue to soar.


End file.
